The Sunday Morning Movie Presents: Moscow, My Love (1974) Run Time: 1H 29M

Greetings gentle readers and welcome to another installment of the Sunday Morning Movie. Today it’s a Russian/Japanese collaboration about love and loss: Moscow, My Love.

Reviews:

Movie Critic says:

Few Russian films achieved greatness during the rigid Totalitarian Soviet regime, which handicapped a great deal of their creative control and made a lot of them feel as if every little scene is cautiously approved (to avoid the term “controlled”), yet there were still interesting achievements here and there. Among them is the joint Japanese-Russian production of the romantic drama “Moscow, My Love”, a refreshingly relaxed, smooth and humble ‘slice-of-life’ story revolving around a Japanese girl studying ballet in the eponymous city. In certain areas, just like most Soviet films, it is dated by today’s standards (for instance, the relic decision that the Japanese dialogue is not subtitled, but atrociously “dubbed” by only one (!) male voice), and thus, congruently, the Japanese director Yoshida did a better job than his Russian counterpart Mitta, whereas the love triangle made an unnecessary turn into the ‘terminal ilness’ genre which turned out overtly melodramatic in the finale, yet it has honest, touching emotions and a good shot compositions thanks to the dynamic camera (one of the best is the almost three minute long shot, filmed in one take, where Wolodja and Yuriko enter a store and sit to order something to drink, while the camera is filming them from outside, while it is still raining). As much as Oleg Vidov is badly miscast for the leading male role, so much is Komaki Kurihara perfectly cast as the leading female role of Yuriko, because she truly has an enchanting screen presence: every gesture she makes is so genuine, charismatic and charming that she truly proves to be one of the most underrated actresses of her time, and the storyline owes 90% of charm to her.

Letterboxd says:

A good film with a fantastic score and good cinematography. However, the ballet sequences went on for too long – sometimes it felt as if I was watching a ballet performance instead of a film. This has a negative impact on the pacing, so I can’t rate it higher.

My take:
It’s an enjoyable, bittersweet love story with a pacifistic heart. It can be melodramatic but it’s innocent and good-hearted and you really feel the tragedy of both the character’s lives as well as the victims of war. There are some interesting if simple uses of light, perspective, and imagery that lend depth to the narrative.

Some reviewers condemned the film as a piece of Soviet propaganda because it ties the bombing of Hiroshima into the story, complete with stock footage of children being treated for radiation burns. I see it differently. I think the film is an anti-war, anti-nuke statement that uses a love story as a vehicle to share those sentiments. One man’s propaganda is another’s heartfelt plea.

I also liked the film because it belies the one dimensional image of the Soviet Union that American Cold War propaganda projects. I grew up during the end of the Cold War and I remember the tales of bread lines and knocks on doors in the middle of the night. Sure, Soviet Communism had serious problems. The state was repressive in many ways. But people still celebrated weddings, went to the beach, ate at restaurants and created art.

Directed by: Aleksandr Mitta, Kenji Yoshida

Written by: Tasiuki Kasikura, Aleksandr Mitta, Edvard Radzinsky

Notable Actors: Komaki Kurihara, Oleg Vidov

Plot (Spoilers!):

Young Yuriko (Kurihara) is a Japanese ballet dancer with a dream. And her dream seems to be coming true. She is invited to join the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. She leaves behind a good friend in Japan, Tetsuya, a friend who loves her.

Moscow seems like paradise to the young lady. It’s a beautiful city full of life and adventure and she can’t get enough of it. The Bolshoi is challenging and she struggles at first with the demands on her skills as a dancer but she improves and lands the lead role in a major production. Things can’t seem to get any better.

Then they do. Yuriko meets a Russian artist Volodya (Vidov), a sculptor, who falls for her immediately. His romantic interest is soon reciprocated by Yuriko in a sweet, innocent way. The pair dash around Moscow hand in hand, enjoying the pleasure of being young and in love.

Yuriko’s friend Tetsuya comes to visit. He wishes to tell her of his love for her but upon meeting Volodya he recognizes the fact that he will only ever be a friend to her. Yuriko is saddened when he leaves Moscow early but her heart belongs to Volodya.

Things take a saddening turn. Yuriko is finding herself tiring easily and at one point collapses in a public place. Rushed to the hospital, she is diagnosed as having leukemia. Her mother, who died of leukemia, had been exposed to radiation from the Hiroshima bombing and the disease was passed along to Yuriko. She loses the role at the Bolshoi, breaking her heart.

Volodya has been working out of town and Yuriko travels to visit him. She tells him of her illness but he refuses to believe that she will not be healed. Upon her return to Moscow however her condition worsens. Confined to a hospital bed, she is visited by a heartbroken Volodya and the two share what little time they have left together. The movie ends with Tetsuya relating that Yuriko died in the spring.