What if this love? (Yuli Raizman 1961)
It was pretty interesting to see how life was in the soviet union: the multifamily buildings, small apartments, single working mothers, dressing style, and society behavior.
The story is about Ksenia and Boris, two teenagers in love but with opposite mindsets toward embracing their feelings and facing society.
Ksenia loses a love letter from Boris; a school teacher finds it, and a scandal based on false speculations invades the village, putting Ksenia on the edge of suicide.
Boris is a good man, different from the rest, with an optimistic mind, not afraid of facing issues, fighting for her girl, and publicly demonstrating how much he cares for her. He knows how to make her smile and taste the joy of life, even for a few minutes.
The mystery of the movie is about Ksenia's resistance to being loved. We can easily conclude that this results from her mother's influence, who doesn't believe love exists, perhaps because the father of her children never loved her, or it could be that the single, hard-working, and tired mother of two children only wants to protect her child from what they know about men.
However, there must be something else on Ksenia's mind; there must be an intense feeling that love and joy are not good things, not for her anyway. She is constantly afraid of what others will say; she bends easily when obstacles arise and finds how to throw away the joy and return to her gloomy, sad being. She punishes herself and pushes away people who genuinely want to help her.
The saddest part is that after more than 60 years of this film, there are too many Ksenias out there. Too many girls and women who don't allow themselves to be loved and cared for, too many finding ways to boycott a relationship, too many hiding behind social networks, alcohol, drugs, or simply isolating themselves while pushing away the persistent Boris on their lives.
Watch the movie on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOiK6AmqJWo
By I.Abrego