Dear movie lovers!

The Russian House in Brussels invites you to a film club dedicated to the 200th anniversary of A.N. Ostrovsky. We will show you two films based on the works of the great playwright, accompanied by expert commentary. After the screenings, we will be able to exchange opinions on what we have seen in a cozy and friendly atmosphere.

Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky (1823-1886) is considered the founder of national theater. His role in the development of Russian drama, stage art, and the entire national culture is difficult to overestimate. The plays of A.N. Ostrovsky, which have not lost their relevance, are still performed on the best theater stages today.

“The Cruel Romance”

Director: Eldar Ryazanov

Starring: Larisa Guzeeva, Alisa Freindlich, Nikita Mikhalkov

1984 * 145 min

French subtitles

Kharita Ignatyevna Ogudalova is a noblewoman from a respected family, a widow with three adult daughters. She became impoverished after her husband’s death, but she does everything to arrange her daughters’ lives and find them wealthy and noble grooms. Despite her lack of means, she keeps an open house, hoping that a society of beautiful and musical young ladies will attract eligible bachelors who are wealthy enough to marry these girls for love, rather than just for their dowries. The only “unattached” daughter of Kharita is the youngest one, Larisa, who has caught the attention of several well-off gentlemen, including Sergey Sergeyevich Paratov—a handsome, charming, somewhat dandyish, carefree, and wealthy nobleman.