Woman's World: A dusty, strange relic

Is this thing worth your time?

Honestly, only if you have a weird fascination with mid-century Soviet aesthetics and don't mind a story that moves at the speed of a rusted tractor. If you like your movies snappy or full of action, stay far away. You will be bored to tears within fifteen minutes. 🙄

But, if you’re the kind of person who enjoys picking apart old films just to see how people held their teacups in 1950s dramas, you might find something here. It’s not exactly The Last Moment in terms of grit, but it has its own weird, stiff charm.

The vibe is… heavy

The whole thing feels like it was filmed in a basement that hadn't seen sunlight in a decade. Every scene is just people standing around, looking very concerned about things that don't really seem to matter once the scene cuts to black. There’s a scene about halfway through where Vera Bendina just stares at a bookshelf for what feels like an eternity. I’m not sure if it was meant to be profound or if the director just forgot to yell cut. It was definitely awkward.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Woman's World (1932) through its definitive frames.

The dialogue is thick. It’s not the kind of stuff you’d hear in Society Girl, that's for sure. It’s all very formal, very pointed, and very exhausting to keep up with if you aren't paying close attention to the subtext. Which, frankly, I stopped doing after the first hour.

Some random thoughts from my notebook:

• The lighting in the kitchen scene is actually kind of interesting. It looks like a painting, if paintings were made of dust and gray paint.
• Valentin Piontovskiy’s mustache is the real star of this movie. It deserves a better script.
• The pacing? Oh boy. It’s like watching a turtle try to navigate a staircase.
• There is a moment where a door slams, and it’s the loudest thing that happens in the entire runtime. I jumped.

It’s not as light or playful as The Little Mademoiselle, and it certainly doesn't have the punch of a good comedy. It’s just… there. It exists. It takes itself so seriously that you almost want to reach into the screen and offer someone a glass of water.

If you watch it, don't expect to walk away feeling changed. You’ll just walk away feeling like you need to reorganize your own bookshelf. Which, honestly, might be a better use of time anyway. 🤷‍♂️