Forgotten Melody for a Flute (Russian: Забытая мелодия для флейты, romanized: Zabytaya melodiya dlya fleyty) is a 1987 Soviet romantic comedy-drama film directed by Eldar Ryazanov. The film's plot is based on the stage play of the same name written by Ryazanov and Emil Braginsky.[1]
A high-ranking bureaucrat, torn between ambition and newfound love, faces a life-altering crisis that forces him to confront his own hypocrisy and the emptiness of his privileged existence.
Plot
Leonid Filimonov, a senior bureaucrat in the "Main Directorate of Free Time," is a man who constantly wrestles with his own duality, presenting himself as a liberal and supportive overseer of various arts and cultural groups while, in reality, routinely banning anything that hints at dissent. Filimonov lives comfortably, having married into a politically powerful family and built a career under the influence of his well-connected father-in-law. His life changes when he meets Lida, a courageous and creative nurse who plays in an amateur theater group he once censored. Lida, unimpressed by his privilege and insincerity, awakens in Filimonov a nostalgia for his youth as an idealistic musician, rekindling his buried desires for authenticity and love. Despite falling for Lida and beginning an affair, Filimonov remains torn, unable to leave his wife, who ultimately discovers his infidelity and throws him out. Seeking refuge, he moves in with Lida temporarily, though his deep-rooted tendency for dishonesty strains their relationship and jeopardizes his career ambitions as his separation from his influential wife threatens his upward trajectory.
When his estranged wife asks him to return, Filimonov, fearing career consequences, decides to leave Lida without a word. Heartbroken, she resigns, and on her last day, Filimonov officially steps into his new role as head of the Directorate. Gazing out the window as Lida walks away, he imagines renouncing his position to pursue an honest life with her, but instead, he begins his first official address as director. Suddenly, he suffers a heart attack, and in a vision of the afterlife, encounters people of various backgrounds and his own parents, who rebuke him for neglecting their graves. Lida, sensing something is wrong, rushes back and finds the paramedics ready to pronounce him dead; throwing herself on him, she begs him to live. Miraculously, Filimonov revives, yet, as he regains consciousness, it becomes clear there is no longer any place for Lida in his life.
Cast
References
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