I'm in Love with You, Life! (Soviet Union, 1967)


Figure 1.--Here are several screenshots from the Soviet musical movie "I love you, the life!" (1967). I didn't know that the Soviets made many musicals, but a Russian reader tells me that they did, both before and after Stalin. The plot is made up around a granddad and a grandson walking streets of Moscow. The boy look to be about 7-8 years old. Grandfather tells the boys all his stories and experiences about the various city landmarks. Notice the boy wears a short pants suit with a beret, white shirt, black bow-tie and long stockings. Notice how long the stockings are. We get the impression that children in many Soviet films wore their own clothes istead of costumes. But we do not know about this particular film.

Here are several screenshots from the Soviet musical movie "I'm in Love with You, Life!" (1967). I didn't know that the Soviets made many musicals, but a Russian reader tells me that they did, both before and after Stalin. We do not know much about the film, as far as I can tell there is no internet listing for the film, at least in English. The plot is made up around a granddad and a grandson walking streets of Moscow. The boy look to be about 7-8 years old. We do not know who played the boy, but the Soviets took a different view as to children in films. There were no child stars as in Hollywood fims. Rather new children were recruited for each film. We are not sure just why they did this, but the experience would not have been as disruptive on the children's lives. Some American children managed to whether stardom. For others it ruined their lives. Grandfather tells the boys all his stories and experiences about the various city land marks. Notice the boy wears a short pants suit with a beret, white shirt, black bow-tie and long stockings. Notice how long the stockings are. This would have been standard contemporary clothing in Moscow at the time for a boy this age. In a couple years, tights would very quickly replace long stockings. We get the impression that children im many Soviet films wore their own clothes istead of costumes. But we do not know about this particular film.

Filmology

Here are several screenshots from the Soviet musical movie "I'm in Love with You, Life!" (1967). I didn't know that the Soviets made many musicals, but a Russian reader tells me that they did, both before and after Stalin. We do not know much about the film, as far as I can tell there is no internet listing for the film, at least in English.

Cast

We don' know the boy's name. He looks to be about 7-8 years old. We do not know who played the boy, but the Soviets took a different view as to children in films. There were no child stars as in Hollywood fims. Rather new children were recruited for each film. We are not sure just why they did this, but the experience would not have been as disruptive on the children's lives. Some American children managed to whether stardom. For others it ruined their lives.

Plot

The plot is made up around a granddad and a grandson walking streets of Moscow. Grandfather tells the boys all his stories and experiences about the various city land marks. A reader has provided plot details. "You can watch this film online. I watched it. It is essentially a Soviet propaganda film exalting Russian life by showing various aspects of Moscow through the eyes of a small boy who is taken around the city by his grandfather. The tour of Moscow is interrupted frequently by performances by male singers whose faces are shown in close-up and who sing patriotic Russian songs. The grandfather buys his grandson a folder of photos of the city and the boy examines them on a park bench while the grandfather reads a newspaper (figure 1). They meet a decorated Russian army officer who takes a liking to the boy and salutes him. The officer tells the boy about adventures in the military. Later they meet a group of Mexicans and the boy is given a huge sombrero to wear which delights him. Continuing their tour of the city, the boy comes upon a little girl and her mother. The girl is crying about some minor "tragedy" in her young life, and the boy cheers her up by giving her the sombrero to wear. The grandfather shows the boy monuments to the glory of Russian history, and they visit a tomb of the unknown solider of the Great Patriotic War so that the boy can lay a bouquet of flowers in tribute to fallen Russian soldiers. We are given a sense of Russian military prowess by sights of missile installations and other evidences of Russian military superiority. Lots of footage of street crowds, people coming out of subways, etc.--the bustle of Moscow city life. He plays hopskotch on a grid that has been chalked by other children in the street.

Costuming

The costuming provides an interesting view of how Soviet boys dressed in the 1960s. Notice the boy wears a short pants suit with a beret, white shirt, black bow-tie and long stockings. At one point the boy takes off his suit jacket to reveal that he is wearing a white blouse with very brief short pants (also a small black tie arranged with a bow at his neck). Notice how long the stockings are. This would have been standard contemporary clothing in Moscow at the time for a boy this age. In a couple years, tights would very quickly replace long stockings. We get the impression that children im many Soviet films wore their own clothes istead of costumes. But we do not know about this particular film. The tan long stockings have to be extremely long to cover his legs with such short shorts, but the stockings are very neatly held up with a garter waist (with supporters) so that the effect is like tights. It is interesting, however, that even in 1967 (the date of the film which features the Moscow fashions of that year), the boy is wearing long stockings with supporters rather than tights. This is clear from the garter buttons that are occasionally visible.







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Created: 7:11 AM 1/3/2013
Last updated: 7:11 AM 1/3/2013