Mne dvadtsat let

“Khutsiev’s most well-known film, the portrait of the younger generation at the start of the 60s, is regarded as a milestone in Soviet cinematography, as a key work of its era and the ‘Massif central of Thaw-era cinema’.  (Olaf Möller) The film focuses on Sergei and his friends Nikolai und Slava, their lives and loves, their search for meaning and self-determination as well as their need to grapple with the generation of their parents, which Khutsiev depicts in suitably heightened form via an imaginary meeting between Sergei and his father, a young soldier who died in the Second World War. This breathtaking cinematic approximation of the reality of life for young adults in Moscow made Khutsiev fall out of favor; the film was only able to be shown in cinemas after being cut and reworked. The groundbreaking, frank, dynamic image of a city, a generation and of an era came across very clearly despite these censorship measures – back then as today, a truly great moment in cinema.”  (Barbara Wurm) (nf/gv)