"Little Vera" has gained most of its notoriety for the Playboy magazine photos of its star, Soviet actress Natalya Negoda, along with the sex and nudity the film itself contains - a first in Soviet filmmaking.
So with all that hype, it's something of a surprise to see the movie and realize that it is a serious film with serious intentions.
"Little Vera" is sort of "Rebel Without a Cause" Soviet style, a look at a young woman who hates the lifestyle she has been born into - an unhappy working-class family crammed into a very small, uncomfortable apartment, with parents who are constantly screaming at one another.
So Vera (Negoda) breaks out and is eventually romanced by a student, whom she ultimately brings home and announces she intends to marry. He is by turns rude and offhandedly charming. Her parents are appalled, of course, but then they are no prizes either.
One point of interest - if this film is meant to be representative of the population at large, alcoholism would seem to be the USSR's most serious social problem. Everyone is constantly swigging vodka in this picture.
There are some very funny moments here, so many in fact that the first half of the film can almost be taken as a comedy, offset by the more somber tones the film's second half takes. But the domestic scenes are far too shrill and the characters too unsympathetic. In the end you may not care enough about any of these people to be concerned about the film's outcome.
"Little Vera" is rated R, primarily for sex and nudity, though there is some violence and profanity. It is in Russian, with English subtitles.