Adventures of a Dentist

Adventures of a Dentist (Похождения зубного врача) is a 1965 Soviet dark comedy film directed by Elem Klimov on Mosfilm. It is currently available to view through the Criterion Channel, and is occasionally screened at film festivals.

Plot
A dentist is derided (and eventually has his life ruined) by his colleagues for his natural talent of painlessly pulling out teeth.

Cast

 * Andrey Myagkov as Sergey Petrovich Chesnokov
 * Vera Vasilyeva as Lyudmila Ivanovna Lastochkina
 * Alisa Freindlich as Masha
 * Panteleymon Krymov as father of Masha
 * Olga Gobzeva as Tanya
 * Igor Kvasha as Merezhkovsky, a fighter for justice
 * Valentin Nikulin as a sick man, brought for a "demonstrative" tooth extraction
 * Yevgeniy Perov as Yakov Vasilyevich Rubakhin
 * Andrei Petrov as Kotikov, Chesnokov's boss
 * Leonid Diachkov as fiancé of Masha
 * Elizaveta Nikischihina as student Zavalniuk
 * Lybov Korneva as Karpova, medical student
 * Svetlana Starikova as Komsomol leader

Production
The film was shot in Kaluga on Dostoevsky Street, Bauman Street, Pushkin Street, Stary Torg Square, Assumption Church.

Background
The film's implication, that society inevitably ostracizes those who are gifted, horrified censors who told Klimov to change it. When Klimov refused, the film was given the lowest classification: "category three", which meant that it was shown in only 25-78 movie theatres. Only about half a million viewers saw the film when it premiered. In the West, the film has gained recognition due to it being directed by Klimov (most known for his film Come and See), and it has been screened at several film festivals in the last few years.