Korotkiye vstrechi

In her first film she directed alone (following two films she co-directed with her husband), Muratova places the focus on two women who love the same man to give an account of female longing with psychological sensitivity. Valentina (played by Muratowa herself in her only acting role, as the actress originally cast pulled out at the last minute) has a lot of responsibility in her job as the city administration’s water inspector. Her husband Maxim (played by well-known singer Vladimir Vysotskiy) is a geologist, which means he’s seldom at home. Valentina is contrasted with the young Nadia, who met and fell in love with the guitar-playing, freedom-loving Maxim at a country locale.  She looks for his address in the city and thus meets Valentina, who takes Nadia for their new home help. For his part, Maxim only appears in the numerous flashbacks, present in the mental and emotional worlds of both women, but not in the everyday lives they live out separately. Muratowa doesn’t tell the standard story of a love triangle; her interest lies instead in the relationship between the two women, who grow closer to one another with great understanding despite how different their lives are. (al)