The Story of Asya Klyachina, Who Loved, But Did Not Marry (1966)

Well the clue to the plot is in the title, but luckily it has a really powerful performance from Iya Savvina as the eponymous, pregnant, character who proves strong and determined despite a disabling limp to help this really stand out. Her lively gypsy community farm has something of the survival of the fittest to it, and she isn't really anyone's choice for a wife amidst the boorish citizens who make up her village. Even the father of her unborn child shows little interest, though her affection for him is clear for all to see. The thing is, her's isn't a desire for something from fairy tale either. She is just as capable as many of the men - just ask the hapless "Stepan" (Aleksandr Surin), and her emotional needs don't require the trappings of traditional romance, per se. Her's is as much...