M?NAGE ? TROIS

A remake of Abram Room's 1927 silent film “Bed and Sofa,” M?NAGE ? TROIS brings the classic romantic triangle to a Moscow apartment where sleeping arrangements do indeed move from the bed to the sofa. It all strats when Sergei (Sergei Makovetsky, who appears in “Of Freaks and Men”) arrives unannounced at the door of his old friend Kostia, who is married to a photographer, Rita. An unemployed actor, Sergei has left his wife back in the war-torn Caucasus to look for work in the capital. Kostia, once an actor himself, is now involved in some shady business dealings that necessitate frequent trips outside Moscow. No sooner has Kostia left on his latest expedition than Sergei and Rita fall in love. Sergei offers to leave the apartment, but Rita won't hear of it. When Kostia returns, she breaks the news to him. Kostia takes it hard and the next day his wrecked car is found in the river. This plunges Rita into depression, but a week later, Kostia, shows up again to reclaim his place on the apartment sofa. Variety called M?NAGE ? TROIS “a deceptively clever pic” with “an amazing freshness and vitality.” Makovetsky gives a great comic performance in this witty moral fable. (In Russian with English subtitles)