Primo amore

Two icons of 70's international cinema -- Dominique Sanda & John Moulder

Brown -- play wonderfully off each other in this lovingly rendered tale of youth, love and the loss of innocence. The photography by none other the great Sven Nyquist more than makes up for some slight sluggishness in the narrative.

Schell's direction is lyrical but not overt or showy. But it is the leads that make this a touching and memorable adaptation of the Turgenev story. Hard to find but definitely worth it.

I saw this for the second time yesterday in a local cinema. On the big screen it was all the more impressing.

This is a very good adaption of Turgenjews story. What I mean by that is that, not only did it ewoke the same feelings that the novella gave me, it used the possibilieties of cinema to amplify them even. The directing is superb, with each shot you feel right there, the cinematography is poetic and connects rural Russia to the very soul of the characters. The acting is deep and the last scenes had me close to tears. On the downside it has some of the more out of place shots and this awkward feeling some of the european productions of that era had.

If you liked Turgenjews novella, definetly see this. If you have ever been a teenager desperatly in love, you need to see it just as much.