At the centre of "The Weekdays and Holidays of Serafima Glukina" stands a lonely grown woman, Serafima, played by Alisa Freindlich, a museum employee, for those times somewhat not of this world
At the centre of "The Weekdays and Holidays of Serafima Glukina" stands a lonely grown woman, Serafima, played by Alisa Freindlich, a museum employee, for those times somewhat not of this world. Today she would be called a representative of the ideas of New Sincerity. A little clumsy, devoid of enterprise, excessively simple and at the same time honest, decent, fair, intelligent and lofty, Serafima collides with the ugly and contradictory types of everyday life; obstacles are thrown in her path by a shrewish boss, boorish neighbours in the communal flat, rude shop assistants and pig-headed taxi drivers. But no irritants of the outside world can disturb her inner harmony, weaken her devotion to the work she loves, or force her to lose faith in herself. Yet life passes, existential questions arise in her head, and melancholy puts down roots in the meagre daily existence of a plain museum worker.
Of course, the film is no bombshell; the clichés about perestroika can partly be forgiven it, and the plot is not the most eventful or aphoristic. But in my view the picture is no worse than the equally unhurried, quiet "Terms of Endearment" of 1983, which won five Oscars and which, oddly enough, shares its theme with the work of the director Rostislav Goryaev: loneliness piercing people in their mature years, a bashful retreat from the struggle for one's own happiness, love without hysterics.
For those interested in the title, there is a riddle in it. Serafim is a common name for the glass harmonica. Gluck is Christoph Willibald, a composer who adored this instrument. Serafima Glukina is the daughter of a collector of musical instruments who bequeathed his collection to the city; it became the foundation of the museum where Sima works as curator and guide. Incidentally, I think the film will interest the people of Yekaterinburg, because the action takes place in Sverdlovsk, and one can make out the old city buildings and some well-known landmarks.
In conclusion, I will say that I disagree with the opinion that Serafima Glukina is out of date. Firstly, decency and spirituality are always relevant, even if the flourishing riff-raff does all it can to play dirty tricks on pure, good people. Secondly, with her keen interest, her inspiration, her devotion to the museum and her endless activities, she would certainly be a valued and respected person in the city community today.
