Underplayed Gems

The Grasshopper (1955)

The Grasshopper poster
Original title
Попрыгунья
Directed by
Samson Samsonov
Genre
drama film
Country
Soviet Union
Runtime
1h 43m
Rating
5.2 of 10 from 9 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A married woman pursues a romantic relationship with a painter, straining her marriage and friendships. The story examines her betrayals and the resulting emotional fallout.

melancholictenseslow-burnbetrayal-drivensombermorally ambiguousunderstated

What happens

The Grasshopper (Russian: Попрыгунья, romanized: Poprygunya) is a 1955 Soviet drama film directed by Samson Samsonov based on the 1892 short story of the same title by Anton Chekhov. It was nominated for a BAFTA award for Best Film in 1957. The lead character is said to be based on Sofia Kuvshinnikova who although married to another man was until 1890 living with the painter Isaac Levitan in the town of Plyos where Sofia was improving her painting skills. Chekhov wrote The Grasshopper shortly after this time when the couple had returned. Chekhov was a close friend of Sofia's and may have had strong affections for her. The story was a way of criticizing her betrayal, both of him and her innocent husband, and created a small scandal. According to the memoirs of Chekhov's brother, Mikhail, the situation almost led to a duel with Levitan, but it was avoided thanks to the intercession of a mutual friend, Tatiana Shchepkina-Kupernik. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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