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Little Vera
Маленькая Вера
1988 128 min Soviet Union 18+
★7.5
Drama, Romance
Director: Vasili Pichul
Trailers
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Description
Vera is a troubled teenager fresh out of school feeling trapped in her provincial port town during the turbulent times of perestroika. Her days and nights are filled with drinking, sex, and family dysfunction.
US Gross:
$1.26M
Starring
Natalya Negoda
Actor
Andrey Sokolov
Actor
Yuriy Nazarov
Actor
Awards
European Film Awards 1989
— Best Screenplay
Nika Awards 1989
— Best Actress
Venice Film Festival 1988
— FIPRESCI Prize
European Film Awards 1989
— Best Director
European Film Awards 1989
— Best Supporting Performance
European Film Awards 1989
— Best Cinematography
Nika Awards 1989
— Best Actress
Nika Awards 1989
— Best Picture
Nika Awards 1989
— Best Actor
Nika Awards 1989
— Best Director
Venice Film Festival 1988
— FIPRESCI Prize
Key opinion
Little Vera is widely regarded as a watershed cinematic milestone of the perestroika era that unflinchingly documented the decay of provincial Soviet life. It is celebrated for its raw, realistic portrayal of generational conflict, suffocating domestic environments, and the desperate yearning for meaning amidst systemic hopelessness.
| Acting | Natalia Negoda and Andrei Sokolov deliver career-defining, authentic performances that ground the film's harsh atmosphere. | |
| Production | The film effectively captures the suffocating, claustrophobic reality of a decaying industrial town, turning the setting into a character of its own. | |
| Theme | The narrative succeeds as a social critique by portraying the generational divide between parents trapped in routine alcoholism and youth searching for agency. | |
| Ending | Opinions on the ending are divided: some view it as a bleak, unresolved portrait of societal stagnation, while others see it as a cathartic, albeit painful, symbol of the old world dying. | |
| Originality | The depiction of sexual content is divisive: while some critics praise its integration as a narrative 'pulse' of youth rebellion, others debated its necessity and shock value during the film's initial release. |