Romance for Lovers (1974): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1974, Romance for Lovers is a drama, romance and music film directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, running about 135 minutes.

What it’s about. Sergei and Tanya are in love with each other. Sergei is drafted into the marine corps and Tania waits for his return. Sergei's division is abandoned in favor of helping local residents in distress. During the operation, his armored personnel gets carried into the sea. His relatives receive a notice of his death. Tanya's loving childhood friend, a hockey player, helps her to cope with misfortune and she marries him. But it turned out that Sergei did not perish. He, together with a wounded friend he saved, are found on a deserted island after a long winter. Back home, Sergei learns that Tanya has married another. Unable to accept the loss of his beloved, Sergei dies; but this death is a symbolic and emotional one, not physical. Sergei continues to live a normal life without shock and strong distress, meets another girl, marries her, has a child. In the finale there is a spiritual rebirth of the hero.

Who’s in it. Romance for Lovers stars Yevgeni Kindinov as Sergey Nikitin, Yelena Koreneva as Tanya, Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy as Trumpeter and Irina Kupchenko as Lyuda, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 6.0/10, Romance for Lovers has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Romance for Lovers page.

If you liked it. Fans of Romance for Lovers tend to enjoy The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, Schindler's List and The Godfather Part II.