Afonya – Lyrical tragicomedy (1975)

Afonya is a funny and at the same time sad story about a plumber Afanasy Borshchov. It was filmed by Georgiy Daneliya and released in 1975. This satirical comedy with social overtones has little to do with the majority of modern comedies from Hollywood or Russian productions.

Afonya – Lyrical tragicomedy (1975)
Source: Kinopoisk

Afanasy (Afonya) and his friend Fedulov spend all day and night avoiding work and finding opportunities to drink. Afonya takes “kickbacks” from clients and is often in trouble with the local communist committee for his behaviour. He bathes in fountains, behaves rude, steals, lies and seemingly feels happy about his senseless life. Sometimes he uses foreign or old-fashioned names to introduce himself to strangers to seem more interesting.

He would have continued in the same way, but one day he meets a young and naive girl named Katya who, unlike many reasonable people around, doesn’t consider him a lost cause. Katya becomes his lifesaver taking him out of a weary and lonely existence. Alone with himself Afonya understands that Katya is a gift of fate. She is a person whom he has never had among his friends, drinking companions, and work pals. It is a person who understands him, who appreciates him and, most importantly, who loves him.

The сomedy gained the recognition and love of the Russian audience and even became the Soviet box office leader of 1975 with a total of 62.2 million ticket sales. In 1976, the film received a special jury award for directing.

Kind, funny, sometimes sad, “Afonya” is easy to watch. If you appreciate a good movie, we have found a free version with English subtitles for you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sne3156KPTM

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