In general,
The film is both unambiguous and contradictory. What could be more feministic than a film made by a woman? What could be more misogynistic than a film made by a woman about women, when the director grew up in a patriarchal environment and the heroines lived in such an environment all their lives? And also in the Soviet Union, and they are actresses, stars of Soviet cinema.
Two moments are very embarrassing that the director, she is an interviewer, almost immediately, dehumanizes her heroines from the doorstep, saying that they are “divas, almost monsters”, and for some reason show footage where Litvinova dresses up one of the heroines, almost like a doll, somehow absurdly putting beads over her head. You can unbutton the clasp and zip it behind your back, which is awkward for the heroine, awkward for the audience.
The film discusses issues related to work, acting career, but also “female” themes, and universal themes of loneliness and aging acquire a caustic taste. It was interesting to watch, but since I only knew two of the five heroines (Okunevskaya, Mordyukova, Vasilyev, Samoilova, Smirnov) I had to review for a second time to find out who said what. In general, it is difficult to separate questions and answers to any blocks, because for heroines life, work, romantic relationships and family are very closely intertwined.
Behdel Test
Definitely passes the test, but it is very indicative that it is not enough to pass the test.
patriarchy in general
Despite the emancipatory upsurge at the beginning of the century, on the merits of Kollontai, for the most part the USSR was a country with a patriarchal culture, this is evident from the stories of the heroines. Mordyukova recounts how she sometimes passed money under the table to her then-partner so he could pay for their food in the dining room, that the partners were jealous of her career, and she had to reassure one of them that he was not a folk artist. Samoilova says: “A man should be by a man, it is not good when a woman works for a man.” And also, telling the story of how she once went outside and no man offered her a ride, she says, "How do you live when there's no one you love?" Legendary female privileges in business. In general, all gender roles are on the spot, on the screen, and in life.
Lucism and ageism
Litvinova: “Smile and reign, unlike you mortals.”
The author of the film says that they do not look like real ones, that even now in the film they have a “special face”, one of the heroines even at some point complains that she was not warned that shooting has already begun. But Okunevskaya says that she does not feel like a beautiful woman, in general, she became a pleasant discovery for me in this film. But at the same time, Okunevskaya treats the director herself in a very Lucist way, contrasting herself, her generation with her. Can you imagine what Renata Litvinova looks like? Here Okunevskaya says that she herself is “iron as a bed”, and Litvinova “like a mimosa”, which is useless to explain something to her. Mordyukova says that the main character is the “mistress” on the set, telling that she somehow told one of the directors at the audition that the actor has “X-footed” and he is not suitable for the role of chairman of the Communist Party (or some other leader) and laughs at the same time.
Of course, we are talking about plastic surgery, Vasilyeva says that she was on a train with one actress, who somehow mechanically tightened the skin on her face, feels sorry for her. Samoilova and Litvinova argue that if a woman cuts herself, then “no husband can resist.” At the same time, Samoilova says that she ate buckwheat and cottage cheese to maintain her appearance. Smirnova says she had to "smile to make people think well" that she was a coquette and wanted everyone to like her. Of course, ageism is closely intertwined with Lucism, because women can not grow old, especially for beautiful women, especially for beautiful actresses. Okunevskaya says, "I'm 90 in 3 years, you know?" I am not, but I am nonetheless.”
Further see
https://t.me/bezdnakolonka/22