| Little Hare | |
| Native Name: | Russian: Зайчик |
| Director: | Leonid Bykov |
| Producer: | Joseph Shurukht |
| Music: | Andrey Petrov |
| Cinematography: | Sergei Ivanov |
| Editing: | K. Lapik |
| Studio: | Lenfilm |
| Runtime: | 87 min. |
| Country: | Soviet Union |
| Language: | Russian |
Little Hare (Russian: Зайчик|Zaychik) is a 1964 Soviet comedy film directed by Leonid Bykov.[1] [2]
The film tells about an honest, shy and kind man who works as a make-up artist in the theater, who suddenly gets to know he has a month left to live. He decides to spend the last month of his life with dignity and like a good man. The hero starts doing things he was afraid to do his entire life: putting rude people back into their place, protecting people from injustice and self-righteous or abusive people, defending all he can with no second thoughts or regrets. He has no fear now, he is not afraid to be left alone or be laughed at. In the end, as it turns out, the deadly prognosis (which he actually came to know because he was eavesdropping), was about an actual hare (a play of words: His surname is Zaychik. Zaychik is also a word for "little hare", hence the name of movie). But by that time he has become a different man: decisive, courageous and knowing his worth.[3]
The song "Waves go out on the sand without a trace" (Russian: Гаснут на песке волны без следа|Gasnut na peske volny bez sleda), performed by Leonid Bykov himself,[6] was written by screenwriter Kim Ryzhov (lyrics) and composer Andrey Petrov. It was recorded by Leningrad Radio and Television Orchestra conducted by Alexander Vladimirtsov.
One of the leaders of the Soviet box office in 1965: 16th place among domestic films (23rd place in the general list) with 25.1 million viewers.[7]