1. Perestroika 1987 - 1991

2. Perestroika After Brezhnev, Andropov and Chernenko die in a quick succession, a new generation leader Mikhail Gorbachev comes to power in 1985. Replaces old-style party bureaucrats, starts the policy of democratization and glasnost (openness and freedom of speech). Declares Perestroika (restructuring) in 1987, launches economic reforms (elements of market economy) and liberal freedoms.

3. Perestroika in cinema Relaxation of controls, appointment of a film director Elem Klimov as 1st sec of Filmmakers Union in May 1986. Practical end of party control. The influence of glasnost: raising questions of the past and the present. Reassessment of history. Release of new controversial films and films “from the shelf.”

4. RepentanceRepentance, 1984 by TengizAbuladze Released in 1987; Cannes prize 1988. In Georgian, set in Georgia, but presents a generalized portrait of a dictator (Stalin+Beria+Hitler+ Mussolini) Most famous quote: “What’s the use of a street if it doesn’t lead to the temple?”

5. Agony (Rasputin) By Elem Klimov Made c.1973-75 Released in the Soviet Union in 1985 Shows Russia’s last tsar sympathetically Rasputin as a historical figure.

6. Come and See, 1985 by Elem Kimov WW II’s untold tragedy; the title quote from Apocalypse. Unheroic story of a witness and survivor. Unprecedented, horrifyingly realistic cruelty on screen.

7. Economics vs art Raising of unreal expectations. Financial self-reliance (khozraschet). Intellectuals dominated, believed in free market – but the market was elsewhere. 1988 Law on cooperatives. Profits, money-laundering. Co-productions with western organizations.

8. New reality of late 1980s Problem of distribution – no more Goskino. Impracticality of intellectuals. Flow of money from distribution to producer broken. Invasion of foreign films (frequently pirated) – with voice-over dubbing. Impact of (a) video and (b) TV (Mexican and Brazilian soap operas). Perestroika generates a tidal wave of trash. Chernukha (“film noir”), or “new realism.”

9. Chernukha(“film noir”) The collapse of family; Immorality, unmotivated cruelty among average Soviet citizens; The death of former ideals; Cramped living conditions; Senseless hysterics; ‘Adult’ scenes. (Horton and Brashinsky qtd in Little Vera by F.Beardow, 6-7).

10. Little Vera, 1988 by VasiliPichul

11. Little Vera “What’s sensational about [the film] is that there’s nothing sensational in it” (qtd Beardow, 3). Most shocking film of the 1980s First erotic scene (1 min 20 sec) on the Soviet screen (viewers’ reaction) Starring: Natalia Negoda, Andrei Sokolov (no-name actors instantly turned stars) The young director’s (b.1961) home city (Zhdanov - Mariupol), his own life experience. The script by his wife Maria Khmelik.

12. Little Vera “The film is an attempt to come close to the abyss of our life today” (Pichul) Challenging Soviet mythology: glorious conscientious “proletariat,” happy young “builders of communism,” (model) family as a “unit of Soviet society”.

13. Little Vera Documentary-like opening long shot of an industrial landscape Grainy film stock, the effect of polluted air and hopelessness Extensive use of hand-held camera for indoor scenes Close-ups: emphasis on the characters Realistic telling details

14. Little Vera The generation gap, clash of values Another “lost generation” (forced to be idle, cynical and hopeless) Vicious circle of life (the young destined to repeat the parents’ path) No privacy, no way to solve conflicts The meaning of the name: Vera=“faith”