The Envy of Gods


The Envy of Gods is a 2000 Russian drama film directed by Vladimir Menshov.

Plot

In the "History" Herodotus says, "The gods do not like happy people". In ancient times, people knew why they can not demonstrate their good fortune and happiness: it can cause jealousy and anger of the gods, because they believed that happiness is their, gods, privilege, and daring people who want the same thing, should be punished.
The film takes place in early autumn 1983 in Moscow, in an atmosphere of acute cold war.
The main heroine of the picture Sonia is an editor in television, she has a son, a graduate of the school, and her husband Sergei is a quite successful Soviet writer. One day to visit them a Frenchman Bernard comes, whom Sergei met while working on a book about the French Resistance, accompanied by a French translator of Russian descent named André. André also has a family in Paris. However, this meeting turns their lives upside down. André falls in love with Sonia at first sight and emphatically tries to get a new meeting with her. Sonia, a faithful wife, educated in the Soviet tradition of chastity, at first refuses; moreover employees of Soviet television are not allowed to enter in unsupervised contact with foreigners. But André still gets his way, and Sonia is also overtaken by a violent passion. She discovers such strong feelings about the possibility of which she previously did not know. For a few days of their lives Sonia and Andre are absolutely happy. But they soon have to separate because their countries belong to different worlds, divided by the Iron Curtain.

Cast

  1. The Long Tango
  2. Meadows
  3. The Dream No.1
  4. The Date
  5. The Catastrophy No.1
  6. Loneliness
  7. Tango `Beter` by J.Menshova
  8. Thinking about the Past No.1
  9. The Catastrophy No.2
  10. Thinking about the Past No.2
  11. Saying Good-bye
  12. Finale