Movie

One's Own Happiness

1979 · 66 min

A quiet, wry Soviet-era moral fable about small compromises, watching an ordinary man talk himself into a scheme that quietly costs him something.

Overview: Alexander Pavlovich Reznikov is short of two hundred rubles (in the 1970s, about one and a half months’ salary for an office worker) to pay for the travel vouchers. His neighbor, a moonlighting contractor named Yura, offers Reznikov a way to earn the money in a single day. To do this, Alexander Palych must be present at the demolition of an old wooden house in the role of a foreman, while Yura will bring in students for the job. He will pay them ten rubles each, while they themselves will receive two hundred and fifty apiece. Reznikov agrees.
How it feels: Satirical, cynical, melancholic and tense. Measured and needs your attention.
About: Class, corruption, greed, work
Content: Mild language. No violence, gore or sexual content.
Note: Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Full breakdown

Tone: satiricalstrength 2 of 3
cynicalstrength 2 of 3
melancholicstrength 1 of 3
tensestrength 1 of 3
Pacing: measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: class
corruption
greed
work
morality
Places: small town
workplace
Era: contemporary
Audience: adult
Form: None
Content intensity: Gore none
Language mild
Violence none
Sex none