Devushka s korobkoi

Satire, slapstick, mistaken identities, and chase scenes – with DEVUSHKA S KOROBKOI, Boris Barnet at the end of the 1920s founded the “Soviet comedy” (Bernard Eisenschitz). But what is typical for Barnet is that he never loses sight of people’s daily lives or tones down his social criticism He is given the chance to do this through money-grubbing roommates and the hat sellers, for whom the young, self-confident hatmaker Natasha (a fantastic Anna Stern) is constantly coming up with new creations that she delivers to Moscow through ice and snow. On her arduous train journey to the big city, she has to fend off a clumsy railroad official who adores her, and a homeless student Ilya who promptly damages the hat box and its contents. On arrival in the Russian capital, the small and large confusions continue to unfold, as does a budding love affair. (Milena Gregor)