Where Has Love Gone?

Infobox Film
name = Where Has Love Gone?


caption = original film poster
imdb_id = 0173875
producer =
director =
writer = ,
starring = Sofia Rotaru
Valeriu Gagiu

music = Raimonds Pauls, Yury Saulsky
distributor = Moldova-Film
released = flagicon|USSR 1 January 1980
flagicon|USSR 1 January 1980
runtime = 79 min.
country = USSR, Moldova
budget = $,000,000 (estimated)
gross = $,000,000 (Worldwide)
language = Russian|

.

Although heavily criticized by cinema experts, as by Sofia Rotaru herself, the film gathered more than 25 million viewers in the former Soviet Union. In 2002, the official video version of the movie directed by Valeriu Gagiu at studios Moldova-Film in 1980 was released by the ARENA Corporation.

Plot

After graduation from conservatory, music professor Marcela (Sofia Rotaru) teaches music in a village music school in Moldova. As a main solo vocal she is invited to join a musical vocal instrumental ensemble, which is being directed by astronomer Viktor. The first rehearsal takes place in the astronomic star observatory tower and that's where Viktor falls in love with Marcela. Andrei also has his idea about Marcela as he cheerly appreciates her first performance with their band. Marcela returns back home to the village, where her local admirer waits for her next to her house door. The rehearsals lead to an invitation to perform on a cruise ship in the Black Sea. As the relationship with Viktor staggers, Andrei manages to approach Marcela. Love, artistic successes, and, as the genre requires, a victory at an international song festival are awaiting Marcela.

Cast

* Sofia Rotaru as "Marcela Bazatin"
* Grigore Grigoriu - Viktor
* Evgueny Menishov - Andrei
* Ekaterine Kazimirova
* Konstantin Konstantinov
* Viktor Ignat
* Viktor Chutak

Production

The shooting of the movie started in Kishinev. The all-Soviet star Sofia Rotaru was selected to play the main role. In fact, in the half-documentary, half-autobiographical film, Rotaru played her real self, even though the last name of the heroine (Botezat) was not the same as the main role artist.

From the beginning the movie was planned to be a musical film; that is why the most popular Soviet singer—Sofia Rotaru—was invited.

The producer Valeriu Gagiu said:

A a result, the scenario was written in a way that it satisfied the conductorship as well. This was supposed to be the first full fledged drama movie about Sofia Rotaru. The singer has agreed to play the role as she was on tour in Odessa. The shooting of the film started with an ensemble of actors, which represented the real cinema stars, even though the movie was a musical film: Grigore Grigoriu, Evgueny Menishov (presenter of the yearly song festival "Song of the Year" with Angelina Vovk), Viktor Chyutak cast. Because of the movie, Rotaru had to refuse to tour, what did not fit in with the plans of the director of Chervona Ruta ensemble, where Sofia Rotaru was the leading soloist singer. The shooting of the movie took place in Moldova, Crimea, and Odessa. [Rejection by her own band became part of the plot of the next drama movie with Sofia Rotaru in the main role "Soul".]

One of the film episodes was shot in the museum-tower of the State University of Moldova. According to the producer Cagiu, he always dreamed of shooting something in the tower and he had specially planned a scene in it. Vaeriu Gagiu said:

According to the participants of the shootings, Sofia Rotaru experienced stress in front of the cameras and the producer had to work thoroughly and long with the singer; according to Gagiu, it would eventually lead to quarrels.

At that time, Sofia Rotaru was known throughout the whole Soviet Union, but was shy of her fame and stressed when she was stopped on the streets for an autograph, often she would lock herself in the hotel room. However, all the sacrifices proved to be efficient, as the film enjoyed a major success. Right after the release of "Where Has Love Gone?", Sofia Rotaru was proposed a new leading role in the next drama film "Soul".

One of the most popular hits of Sofia Rotaru, the song "Red Arrow" (music: Aleksey Mazhukov, lyrics: Nikolay Zinoviev), was written and composed specially for the film "Where Has Love Gone?".

Soundtrack

Popular schlagers of 1970-80s are performed in the film, created by Ion Aldi, Aleksandr Zatsepin, Alexei Mazhukov, Raimonds Pauls, Yury Saulsky.

Most of the songs were released in the album of Sofia Rotaru - Songs from the movie "Where Has Love Gone?"

*List of songs performed by Sofia Rotaru:
** Where Has Love Gone? (song)

Gallery

Notes and references

External links

* [http://www.ruskniga.com/sell.asp/ItemId/20360/initcode/searchall/category/DVD/sc/195/af/pgmatg/bn/1 Ruskniga.com]
* [http://www.kino-teatr.net/kino/movie/sov/1344/annot/ Kino-teatr.net]
* [http://www.kinoexpert.ru/index.asp?comm=4&num=4293 Kinoexpert.com]