There Was an Old Couple


There Was an Old Couple is a 1965 Soviet drama film directed by Grigory Chukhray. It was entered into the 1965 Cannes Film Festival.

Plot

In a small village by a river, two elderly retirees find themselves homeless after their house burns down. Lacking the strength or will to rebuild their wooden cabin, they decide to move to Vorkuta, a northern Siberian town where their daughter lives, despite their son being in a more stable situation. Upon arrival, they learn that their daughter, a mother to a young boy, has left her husband to pursue a relationship with another man. When she returns, her father, deeply offended by her actions, drives her away.
Left behind with their alcoholic son-in-law and grandson, the couple attempts to adapt to their new living situation. The grandfather, who is deeply rooted in the Stalinist ideology of his youth, begins to confront the harsh realities and lasting consequences of that era in the remote Siberian town.

Cast