Twenty Days Without War

War correspondent Lopatin takes a 20-day-leave from his hard work at the front in 1942. He travels to faraway Tashkent to meet the family of the killed soldier and visit the film set of the screen adaptation of his war-time stories. Lopatin also manages to walk the streets of Tashkent, take part in a factory workers' meeting and have a short-lived love affair. Although with no bombings and fighting, the city dwellers breathe the atmosphere of the ongoing war.

Directed by Aleksei German, Twenty Days Without War leans on a strong ensemble — Yuriy Nikulin, Lyudmila Gurchenko, Aleksey Petrenko — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about war titles of 1976.