| The Beginning | |
| Director: | Gleb Panfilov |
| Producer: | A. Tarasov |
| Starring: | Inna Churikova Leonid Kuravlyov Mikhail Kononov[1] |
| Music: | Vadim Bibergan |
| Cinematography: | Dmitri Dolinin |
| Editing: | Maria Amosova |
| Studio: | Lenfilm |
| Runtime: | 91 minutes |
| Country: | Soviet Union |
| Language: | Russian |
The Beginning (ru|Начало|Nachalo) is a 1970 Soviet romantic drama film[2] directed by Gleb Panfilov and starring Inna Churikova as Pasha,[3] a factory worker and small-time actress whose life is transformed first by falling in love with the married Arkady (Leonid Kuravlyov) and then by being offered the lead in a movie about Joan of Arc.[4]
The film follows two intertwined storylines. The first centers on the life of Pasha Stroganova, a modest textile worker from the small town of Rechensk. Plain in appearance, she spends her days working at the factory, going to dances, and playing Baba Yaga in a local amateur theater group. One night at a dance, she meets and immediately falls in love with Arkady. Around the same time, a director from the city attends one of her performances and, unexpectedly, offers her a role in a major film playing Joan of Arc. This begins the second storyline—a film within a film, unfolding the story of the legendary French heroine.
The film's production is fraught with challenges, as the rest of the crew struggles to understand what the director sees in this unassuming provincial actress. Meanwhile, Pasha learns that Arkady is married, putting her love for him in jeopardy. After a fight with his wife, Arkady moves in with Pasha, but his wife eventually forces him back home, leaving Pasha devastated. Heartbroken, she attempts suicide, but her neighbor Pavlik saves her just in time. Determined, Pasha decides to finish her role with dignity. The film becomes a huge success with audiences, but despite her newfound fame, other directors are not rushing to offer her roles. Pasha now faces a new chapter in life, one that promises to be far from easy.