Office Romance - The Golden Age of Soviet Cinema

26 September 2023

The Russian Embassy in South Africa continues to introduce its South African friends to the best examples of Soviet/Russian cinematography in the “Russian Movie Night” format. On September 20, another piece of timeless classics of Soviet cinema – Eldar Ryazanov’s "Office Romance" (1977) was screened in Pretoria.

“The 1970s are remembered in the Soviet political history as the stagnation era; however, as I mentioned at our previous Russia’s movie nights, this period is also recognized as the golden age of Soviet cinema: many of the most remarkable masterpieces were produced during this decade,” Russian Ambassador to South Africa Mr Ilya Rogachev noted in his introductory remarks.

Rogachev pointed out, that the "Office Romance" became one of the leading pictures at the 1978 USSR box-office; it was seen by more than 58 million viewers. The actors who played the main roles – Alisa Freindlich and Andrey Myagkov – were named Best Actors of the year by readers of Soviet Screen Magazine.

The movie is a romantic drama and screwball comedy and is a comical depiction of the everyday life and customs of Soviet society during that era. The director Eldar Ryazanov created his own style of lyrical comedy and satire. His movie, ‘Irony of Fate’, which was screened in December by the Russian Embassy in Pretoria, became a cult movie which is shown every New Year’s Eve as a tradition in the former Soviet Union.

The film was warmly received by the audience, among whom were many Russian language learners including students of the Centre of Open Education that was recently inaugurated in Johannesburg.

Russian Embassy in Pretoria and TDS