Accidental Waltz

Tatyana Prokofievna is an ageing woman with the aspirations and manners of a diva, but her life is uneventful, ordinary and dull. In an attempt to escape solitude and defy old age she seeks romantic friendship of her young male protégés. She takes them into her house as lodgers and becomes drawn into their problems, love affairs and relationships. Meanwhile her former lover marries her former friend, and she is forced to hide her own solitude and bitterness under the mask of a carefree friendliness, acting the part of a generous hostess.
Alla Sokolova, a renowned Soviet dramatist, who was cast by Proskurina to play the part of the ageing lady, gives a remarkable performance. She is supported in this ‘accidental waltz of life’ by an outstanding ensemble of actors, including Victor Proskurin and Alexei Serebryakov.
This film, one of the highlights of Proskurina’s career, presents a vivid, sharp and unsentimental portrait of a female, who is past her prime and who becomes addicted to youth and young people as a source of comfort and means of psychological survival. Proskurina directs with the confidence and maturity of an ‘auteur’, aspiring to transcend the conventions of the genre and deliver a meaningful and universally important message. She leaves nothing to ‘chance’ or ‘accident’ and creates a profoundly humanistic and memorable drama. (MB)