KUROCHKA RYABA (1994):
Assia lives in a small Russian village, populated by useless alcoholics. She sells eggs and alcohol to her neighbors, and everybody is happy. But one day, her hen lays a golden egg, and Assia may have a golden opportunity. Now her life becomes miserable, because of her jealous neighbors.
DVD-R is in Russian with switchable English subtitles. Approx. 111 mins. See film sample for audio and video quality!
CHASING TWO HARES (1961):
In early 20th-century Kyiv, a young rascal named Svyryd Holokhvostyi (translation: Not-A-Penny) owns a barbershop, which is on the verge of bankruptcy. Holokhvostyi spends most of his time drinking, gambling, and chasing women. After his shop is seized by the police for unpaid debts, Holokhvostyi decides to marry rich, but pathetically ugly, Pronia to solve his pecuniary woes. Pronia, ashamed of her unfashionable Ukrainian origins and her simple Ukrainian parents, is easily beguiled by her suitor's "aristocratic manners". She eagerly accepts his marriage proposal. In a parallel line of action, Holokhvostyi proposes to the beautiful, but poor, Halia who rejects him. By pretending to be rich, he persuades Sekleta Lymerykha, Halia's mother, to marry Halia off to him. His pursuit of wealth and love quickly proves to be a recipe for his own undoing.
DVD-R is in Russian and Ukrainian with switchable English subtitles. Approx. 71 mins. See film sample for audio and video quality!