ANGELS WITH BROKEN WINGS

“Everyone feels only his own misfortune and considers the misfortunes of others a trifle in comparison with his own,” says the brother of Alexei Bartenev, the hero of ANGELS WITH BROKEN WINGS. But as Bartenev reflects on his orphaned childhood – the artlessness, happiness and merriment along with the grief of loss and the pangs of unrequited love – he finds himself disagreeing. He knows the value of the sympathy, compassion, love and care which were offered to him by total strangers when he was left parentless as an infant. Despite the sorrow and disappointment that mingle in Bartenev's mind with the joy of his youthful memories, this is ultimately a hopeful and very compassionate study of the human condition. It is also one of the most recent examples of the great tradition of Russian cinema.