I Am Twenty (1965)

Following three lifelong friends who return to Moscow after military service, we see their aspirations juxtaposed against everyday life in 1960 Soviet Union.

Director:

Marlen Khutsiev

Writers:

Marlen Khutsiev (as M. Khutsiev), Gennady Shpalikov (as G. Shpalikov)

Stars:

Valentin Popov, Nikolay Gubenko, Stanislav Lyubshin

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Valentin Popov	...	Sergey Zhuravlyov (as V. Popov)
Nikolay Gubenko	...	Nikolay 'Kolya' Fokin (as N. Gubenko)
Stanislav Lyubshin	...	Slava Kostikov (as S. Lyubshin)
Marianna Vertinskaya	...	Anya (as M. Vertinskaya)
Zinaida Zinoveva	...	Olga Mikhaylovna Zhuravlyova (as Z. Zinovyeva)
Svetlana Starikova	...	Vera Zhuravlyova (as S. Starikova)
Lev Prygunov	...	mladshiy leytenant Aleksandr Zhuravlyov (as L. Prygunov)
Tamara Bogdanova	...	Lyusya Kostikova (as T. Bogdanova)
Lyudmila Selyanskaya	...	Katya Yermakova konduktorsha (as L. Selyanskaya)
Aleksandr Blinov	...	Kuzmich (as Sasha Blinov)
Lev Zolotukhin	...	otets Ani (as L. Zolotukhin)
Pyotr Shcherbakov	...	Pyotr Chernousov (as P. Shcherbakov)
Gennadi Nekrasov	...	Vladimir Vasilyevich (as G. Nekrasov)
Nikolay Zakharchenko	...	Drug (as N. Zakharchenko)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Emma Adamovskaya	...	(as E. Adamovskaya)

Storyline

Following three lifelong friends who return to Moscow after military service, we see their aspirations juxtaposed against everyday life in 1960 Soviet Union.

---

Plot Keywords:

russia | number in title | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Did You Know?

Alternate Versions

"The film was originally entitled "Zastava Iliycha" (known in English alternately as "Ilyich's Gate" or "Lenin's Guard"), but it was heavily censored upon completion, trimmed to half its original length, re-titled and withheld from release until 1965. A restored 3-hour version was released in 1989, and is sometimes referred to by the original title." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Twenty

---

Connections

Featured in Fejezetek a film történetéböl: A szovjet film 1953-1970 (1990)

User Reviews

philosophy and quarter-life crisis

I've always thought that a lot of films that were made in the Soviet Union got overshadowed by Eisenstein and Tarkovsky, not to mention by European films from France, Italy, by Bergman, by Kurosawa and many others from Japan. I feel sad when I think about that, because there are so many great films that were made there that the general film loving public did not and does not get to see. The only two films that may have broken out of this "embargo", so to speak were The Cranes are Flying and Ballad of a Soldier. Criterion has been doing some good deed and releasing a few of such great films I speak of in the Eclipse Series and I only hope they keep releasing them because there are just too many to list that others must see.

I Am Twenty is one of those films. It was made during the de-Stalinization period, otherwise known as the Krushchev thaw where people had a short period of freedom of speech, which Hutsiev, the film's director utilized in making of this film, where the story centers on three friends in their 20's going through a sort of a quarter-life crisis in the Soviet Union, worrying about such things as where to live, means of getting money, and exactly what to do with their lives - which at the time was unheard of - one of the reasons for which Krushchev condemned this film during the end of the thaw (when it was being released) and most certainly which contributed to this film's censorship.

This undoubtedly is the kind of film that speaks the universal language, which I hope would be an intriguing watch for people who can track this film down and watch it (there are English subtitles for it, I checked)

Shot beautifully, flows poetically, and definitely leaves a mark.

I loved it [07-22-2011, 08:23 PM]

Details

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Release Date:

18 January 1965 (Soviet Union)

Also Known As:

Ich bin zwanzig Jahre alt

Filming Locations:

Red Square, Moscow, USSR

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kinostudiya imeni M. Gorkogo, Pervoe Tvorcheskoe Obedinenie

Technical Specs

Runtime:

189 min 160 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1