Three Sisters (1970)

Set in a small provincial Russian town, three sisters long to return to Moscow, the city where they grew up: Olga (Jeanne Watts) is a spinster who teaches school, Masha (Joan Plowright) is married to an older man (Kenneth MacKintosh) she has fallen out of love with and Irina (Louise Pernell), the youngest who fantasizes that everything will be fine if they could get back to Moscow. Based on the classic play by Anton Chekhov (the "The" has been dropped from the title) and directed by Laurence Olivier. Chekhov's great drama reflects on the dreams we have and how we must go on when they don't materialize. While the sisters' stoic acceptance of their situation may prove irritating to some (at times, I wanted to yell, "Do something about it instead of just talking about it"), Chekhov perfectly encapsulates their loneliness and entrapment and perhaps their passive acceptance is a comment (would they be any happier in Moscow?). The acting is very good and director Olivier has a supporting role as an alcoholic doctor. Not released in the U.S. until 1974. With Alan Bates, Derek Jacobi, Sheila Reid and Ronald Pickup.