Virtual Friday Night Films at the Wende: The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!

It’s New Year’s Eve in 1970s Moscow, and Zhenya is celebrating his annual tradition of going to the steam baths with friends. He gets too drunk, accidentally boards a plane to Leningrad, and ends up in an apartment building identical to his own back home. The apartment’s tenant tries to throw him out, but over the course of the night, a romance ensues. A key theme of the film is the drab uniformity of Brezhnev-era architecture, with its identical concrete-panel apartment buildings, as introduced in the film’s comic animated prologue. The romantic comedy remains a holiday staple in Russia and is broadcast every year on New Year’s Eve.

Watch for free on Mosfilm’s YouTube.

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Virtual Film Picks are inspired by the in-person Friday Night Films at the Wende program series. This selection is part of a curated list of weekly movie suggestions that can be watched at home, in conjunction with #WendeOnline.