Tears Were Falling

Tears Were Falling (Слёзы капали) is a 1982 Soviet fantasy drama film directed by Georgiy Daneliya. The plot can be viewed as a modern interpretation of the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen The Snow Queen. It was the last film role of actor Boris Andreyev.

Plot
The plot of the story is the same as in the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. An evil troll creates a magic mirror that reflects and exaggerates everything bad and evil. The mirror shatters, and one of its millions of fragments falls into the eyes Pavel Ivanovich Vasin, a resident of the small town of Zarechensk.

Ordinarily a balanced person, respectable family man, and helpful neighbor and colleague, Vasin changes beyond recognition. He sees only the worst in his friends and relatives and no redeeming traits. Vasin kicks his son out of the household, quarrels with his wife, hurls verbal abuse at his colleagues at work, and even goes so far as to attempt suicide.

Cast

 * Yevgeny Leonov as Pavel Ivanovich Vasin
 * Iya Savvina as Irina, Vasin's wife
 * Nina Grebeshkova as Zinaida Galkina
 * Aleksandra Yakovleva as Lyusya
 * Boryslav Brondukov as Fyodor, alcoholic
 * Boris Andreyev as Nikolai Vanichkin
 * Pyotr Shcherbakov as Sklyansky
 * Nina Ruslanova as Dina
 * Andrei Tolubeyev as Tolik
 * Georgiy Daneliya as a passenger on the tram (uncredited)

Production and release
The working title of the film was Gladiator.

The film was shot in Kaluga, Rostov, Ashgabat, and Odessa.

The film was banned from screening abroad, six months lay on the shelf, and then was released in a limited release.