We'll Live Till Monday (1968) User Reviews

This movie from the Brezhnev era is worth watching

[frankde-jong · 7/10 · 21 July 2019]

In many films where teachers play an important role (("Dead poets society", 1989, Peter Weir), ("October Sky", 1999, Joe Johnston) they are self assured role models for their pupils. In "We'll live till monday" the teachers have problems and doubts of thier own. In this respect the film is more like "Twenty four eyes" (1954, Keisuke Kinoshita).

The year 1968 was a year of protest. Civil rights protests in the USA, Studentprotests in France and last but not least the Prague Spring protest in Czechoslovakia. The pupils in "We'll live till monday" also show signs of rebellion, but according to Western standards it is a very sheepish form of rebellion. However their indifference about the lessons of their history teacher of the 1917 october revolution may well have been very sensitive in the Brezhnev era.

One of the teachers is living with his mother and still single. The interference of his mother with his private live, and her attempts to raise his interests for women reminded me of many Ozu films (although in these films the single one is mostly a daughter).

"It's just another manic Monday,I wish it were Sunday,'Cause that's my fun day."

[morrison-dylan-fan · 8/10 · 30 September 2017]

Sharing details on a number of titles from 1968 I've recently seen,I started talking to a former IMDber about movies from the year,and ended up getting a list of their top films from 1968. With the superb adaptation of And Then There Were None being the only Soviet Union film I've seen,I decided to not wait for Monday to view my second movie from the Union.

The plot:

Becoming one of the most respected teachers at the school, Ilya Semyonovich Melnikov becomes sick of lies going round that he is having a secret romance with fellow teacher Natalya Sergeevna Gorelova-who used to be a student of his. Going to the head teacher, Melnikov gives his notice in,and declares that he is working his final week. For his final lesson,Melnikov asks the students to write an essay on how they understand happiness,and gets some surprising answers.

View on the film:

Attempting to ignore the whispers linking her with Melnikov, Irina Pechernikova gives an immaculate performance as Gorelova,who faces disruption from her class and fellow teachers,but is given a head- strong, determined attitude by Pechernikova. Handing in his notice to the head teacher, Vyacheslav Tikhonov gives an incredibly brittle performance as Melnikov,which strikes in snappy dialogue exchanges,that Tikhonov cleverly gets to break into shock,on Melnikov's final school day.

Joining the students and the teachers in class, the screenplay by Georgi Polonsky superbly grinds intimate personal lessons,where one misplaced sentence from a student can set off an abrasive chain reaction from Melnikov. Offering glimpses into Melnikov's humble home life, Polonsky invests everything Melnikov has into the school, as the final lesson of Melnikov is given a heavy dramatic weight. Appearing to have been filmed at a real school, director Stanislav Rostotskiy & cinematographer Vyacheslav Shumskiy close in on Melnikov in sharp- edged close-ups,as the lesson ends.