Borrowing Matchsticks

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1980 Soviet film

Borrowing Matchsticks

Directed by| Leonid Gaidai
Risto Orko
Written by| Original play:
Algot Untola
Screenplay:
Leonid Gaidai
Tapio Vilpponen
Vladlen Bakhnov
Risto Orko
Starring| Yevgeny Leonov
Vyacheslav Nevinny
Georgy Vitsin
Rita Polster
Ritva Valkama
Sergey Filippov
Music by| Aleksandr Zatsepin

Production
companies

* Mosfilm
* Suomi-Filmi

Release date

* 1980 (1980)

Running time

| 94 min (Soviet version)
100 min (Finnish version)
Countries| Soviet Union
Finland
Language| Russian / Finnish

Borrowing Matchsticks (Russian: За спичками, romanized: Za spichkami, Finnish: Tulitikkuja lainaamassa) is a Soviet–Finnish historical adventure comedy film produced by Mosfilm and Suomi-Filmi in 1980. The film is based on a novel by Algot Untola.

## Plot

[edit]

Antti Ihalainen (Yevgeny Leonov) lives happily on the farm with his wife Anna-Lisa (Rita Polster). Once, when the house ran out of matches and the Ihalainens had nothing to make a fire for cooking coffee so loved by the Finns, Anna-Lisa sent her husband to a neighbor Hyvärinen (Sergei Filippov) for matches.

On the way, Ihalainen meets an old friend Jussi Vatanen (Vyacheslav Nevinny). Widower Jussi asks Ihalainen to woo for him Hyvärinen's daughter Anna-Kaisa (Vera Ivleva). When they came to visit Hyvärinen, Antti praised his friend for a long time ("the meat at the Vatanen household is never depleted, even in summer") and finally utters the sacred words: "And why not Anna-Kaisa marry Jussi Vatanen?" The Hyvärinens are enthusiastic about the idea. Antti has forgotten the original purpose of his visit to the Hyvärinens.

Meanwhile, tailor Tahvo Kennonen (Georgy Vitsin) from a nearby town in a drunken conversation with a customer tells that long ago he liked Anna-Lisa, but Antti Ihalainen got ahead of him. Tahvo Kennonen plans to see his old sweetheart.

Ihalainen between said Jussi successful courtship, and the friends decide to go into the city – to buy gifts for the bride's family, including grain spirit (vodka) for the old man Hyvärinen. In order to avoid buying a new bottle of this product, Jussi found an old one in the attic.

The friends Antti and Jussi themselves for 10 years as a "tied" to drink, because 10 years before, being drunk, they fought with a miller, broke four ribs, and then for every broken miller's rib the friends had to give him a cow. Since then, they quit drinking.

Sadly, the bottle wasn't empty. Although Jussi suggested to "pour this stuff," two friends drank it and then went to town drunk. Got to meet them tailor Tahvo Kenonen they intimidated and nearly beat him. Known gossiper Ville Huttunen (Olavi Ahonen), who also caught them on the road, they jokingly said that they were going to America. Ville Huttunen was quick to spread the news throughout the district. The rumor came to the ears, and Anna-Lisa, who has already begun to worry about why the husband is not so long back from the neighbors. And inspired by this news Tahvo Kennonen in a hurry to make a marriage proposal, "the rest of the widow" Anna-Lisa. At this time, Antti and Jussi, arriving in the city, it is not in a hurry to go home. When Ihalainen finally returned, and saw his wife's new husband, that it came out sideways ...

## Cast

[edit]

* Yevgeny Leonov (Antti Ihalainen)
* Vyacheslav Nevinny (Jussi Vatanen)
* Georgy Vitsin (Tahvo Kennonen)
* Rita Polster (Anna-Lisa Ihalainen)
* Ritva Valkama (Miina)
* Sergey Filippov (Hyvärinen)
* Nina Grebeshkova (Hyvärinen's wife)
* Vera Ivleva (Anna-Kaisa)
* Galina Polskikh (Kaisa Karhutar)
* Mikhail Pugovkin (chief of Police)
* Kauko Helovirta (lieutenant Torvelainen)
* Leo Lastumäki (farmer Partanen)
* Olavi Ahonen (Ville Huttunen)
* Leonid Kuravlyov (peasant)
* Viktor Uralsky (peasant)

## External links

[edit]

* Borrowing Matchsticks at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Leonid Gaidai

* A Weary Road (1956)
* A Groom from the Other World (1958)
* Thrice Resurrected (1960)
* "Dog Barbos and Unusual Cross" (1961)
* Moonshiners (1961)
* Strictly Business (1962)
* Operation Y and Shurik's Other Adventures (1965)
* Kidnapping, Caucasian Style (1967)
* The Diamond Arm (1968)
* The Twelve Chairs (1971)
* Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future (1973)
* It Can't Be! (1975)
* Incognito from St. Petersburg (1977)
* Borrowing Matchsticks (1980)
* Sportloto-82 (1982)
* Dangerous for Your Life! (1985)
* Private Detective, or Operation Cooperation (1990)
* Weather Is Good on Deribasovskaya, It Rains Again on Brighton Beach (1992)

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