Courier (film)

Courier (Курьер), also known as Messenger Boy is a 1986 Soviet romantic comedy-drama film directed by Karen Shakhnazarov. It was entered into the 15th Moscow International Film Festival where it won a Special Prize.

Plot
Moscow, 1986. The film opens with the scene of the Miroshnikovs' divorce. Their son, Ivan Miroshnikov, а 17-year-old high school graduate, remains with his mother. With Ivan having failed the entry exam for university, his mother finds him a job as a courier for the magazine Questions of Knowledge. On his first working day, Ivan is sent to deliver the manuscript to Professor Kuznetsov, but Ivan instead goes skating with his friend Bazin, and as a result is very late in delivering the manuscript. At the professor’s home, Ivan meets his daughter Katya, and they quickly find a common language. During his next visit to collect the manuscript, Ivan is invited to have lunch with the Kuznetsov family. Ivan’s direct and peculiar statements infuriate the professor, who yells at Ivan and kicks him out. In parting, Katya tells Ivan that she will call him later.

Ivan and Katya start dating. They meet each other's friends, but they both fail to fit into each other's groups. Ivan and his relatives are not rich and spend their time in "budget" entertainment, and Katya is a representative of the "golden youth" with corresponding interests and values. One day when Ivan is visiting Katya, they are playing with the piano and get caught by the professor. The professor pulls Ivan aside and insists he end all relations with his daughter, saying that Ivan is a bad influence on her, to which Ivan responds by lying that Katya is pregnant from him and asks the professor for her hand in marriage; the professor believes him. The next day, Ivan finds Katya near Moscow State University and tries to apologize for his prank, but it turns out that Katya confirmed Ivan’s words to her parents.

In the evening, Ivan comes with flowers for Katya’s birthday to apologize to her family. He, unexpectedly for himself, joins the guests and the Kuznetsovs’ close circle. The conversation among the guests turns to modernity and youth. The conversation turns into a showdown and Katya's awkward admission that her dreams are far from her parents' high aspirations; having lost her temper, she rushes into the street, away from the guests. Ivan runs out after her and finds her not far from the house. Katya asks Ivan not to come to her or call her anymore.

On the way home, Ivan meets Bazin and asks what he dreams of. Bazin reports that he dreams of buying a coat, since winter will soon come, and he only has a jacket which is too light. After thinking a little, Ivan gives Bazin his coat and advises him to dream about something great, and not about clothes. Ivan walks through the yard, stops, and sees a soldier returning from Afghanistan with a burned face and military awards - a reminder that military service awaits Ivan himself.

Cast

 * – Ivan, courier
 * Anastasiya Nemolyaeva – Katya
 * Oleg Basilashvili – Semyon Petrovich, Katya's father
 * Inna Churikova – Lydia Alekseevna, Ivan's mother
 * Aleksandr Pankratov-Chyorny – Stepan Afanasyevich, editor-in-chief
 * Svetlana Kryuchkova – Zinaida Pavlovna, secretary
 * Vladimir Menshov – Oleg Nikolaevich, guest at Katya's birthday