#goncharov romance

[foxtwink]

Concepts + Relationships in Goncharov (1973)

I finally watched Goncharov and wanted to post my own analysis because it destroyed me emotionally ;-; This will be focused on certain scenes / concepts that stand out to me, and scenes related to Goncharov or Katya. It also gets more unprofessional and rambly the further it gets as I lose my sanity. Enjoy!

It's incredibly significant to me that a movie portraying positive gay relationships was filmed during a time when the Hays Code was active. It really shows the resilience and continual survival/presence of the LGBT+ community, even when faced with hostility from the outside world. Of course the gay relationships aren't the focus of Goncharov but like, the fact that gay relationships never needed to be in this movie at all?? They weren't essential to the plot. The movie wasn't about or centered around queer relationships. Those queer relationships just... existed. Director Martin Scorsese just... chose queer representation. It's super unfortunate that queer representation did end up leading to Goncharov's heavy censorship when it was released but I think being able to rediscover it in 2022 has given a lot of us in the queer community hope and has turned Goncharov into sort of a 'queer icon' type movie? And might be what has led to Tumblr's huge obsession over it. (Because as you know, the presence of gays on Tumblr is huge).

Goncharov (1973) is also culturally significant. The anchovies scene. THE ANCHOVIES SCENE. They really single-take improv'ed a scene discussing fUCKING PIZZA and USED IT AS AN ALLEGORY for old, traditional values vs. new progressive values. THE ACTORS ARE FUCKING BRILLIANT??? Not only this but the anchovies scene as the setup to homoerotic Andrey x Goncharov implications ?! smortass gae men plsss. What's so important about this scene to me is that it reflects how many of my friends and I might have a conversation. They're just cooking and they start talking about food. then that leads to an INTELLECTUAL discussion about values, using what they're doing (cooking) as a metaphorical comparison point. AndTHEY DID IT SO WELL???? FIND ME ONE PERSON IRL WHO CAN USE ANCHOVIES ON PIZZA TO MAKE A POINT ABT PROGRESSIVE / NEW IDEAS BEING SCARY BUT ALSO POSSIBLY BEING GOOD BUT YOU WOULDN'T KNOW UNTIL YOU TRIED IT???? i am iN LOVE

OK LET ME AT SOFIA FOR A MOMENT GRRRRGRGRGRRR BARK BARK BARK GRRRRRRRRR. Sofia is insane. When we're first introduced to this character she fucking bITES SOMEONE'S EAR OFF in the background of a shot?? SHE IS A BITER she is crazy I LOVE HER. Biter representation fr. Then while Katya and Sofia are having their wlw sequence, and they fight, Sofia ruthlessly starts fucking drowning her ??? Against Katya's reasonability, her love, her "this isn't how we end sof" they're fighting, Katya's dying, the slowing thudding heartbeat with the ticking watch, it's all so.. visceral. Tangible. It's a scene you FEEL deep in your bones. You recognize in that moment that Sofia just... is a wild card. No apologies, no purpose, no meaning. She's not a manic pixie dream girl, no Harley Quinn, she's not written up for some redemption arc or to be "misunderstood" just for later trauma reveal and healing sequences. She just... is. She's insane and awful and tragic and amazing and beautiful too. She's a force of nature. She truly makes you feel entropy incarnate.

Next up the apple scene. CAN WE TALK ABT THE REPEATED FOOD SYMBOLISM IN THIS MOVIE??? Goncharov offering Andrey the apple ??? Adam and Eve allegory ???? The entire scene basically screams "hey im gay (corruption) come be gay (corrupted) with me" and I LOVE IT. but the fact that ANDREY FUCKING REFUSES TO EAT IT??? Like. im SOBBING this is such an emotional and symbolic scene and we can see Andrey struggling with himself here. He doesn't know what he wants yet. He doesn't want to make hasty decisions. Yes, he takes the apple, but he also doesn't eat it- he's tempted but he doesn't commit. He knows better than to follow his basic impulses. He decides to spend time getting to know Goncharov better instead. This scene really offers a lens into Andrey's character and gives him dimension rather than making this a Gay Romance ™️

NEXT UP: clock tower scene !!!!! wow. wowowowowoowowow. ok. wow i can't breathe. this scene is STUNNING. 1) the clock symbolism, relating back to Katya's watch. 2) the actual aesthetic, gorgeous spinning brass and silver accents with the sunlight and everything. 3) the STANDOFF between Goncharov and Andrey. Goncharov is so scared and paranoid. He has that gun pulled and pointed at Andrey, he's shaking, he's visibly upset and unwell. Andrey is an absolute statue, the fucking image of calm over here smoking a cigarette not even worried. Such gorgeous juxtaposition man I wanna cry. 4) the gunshot. when Goncharov pulled the trigger I jumped so hard, hell I expect anyone who watched this movie jumped and yet the focus on Andrey and he's still standing just as still, not a twitch not a jump. He was looking away from Goncharov and yet he didn't fear for his life for a SECOND. He knew he wasn't going to get shot. I can't believe this sexy ass man's nerve but it makes him so beautiful and contrasts so well with Goncharov's paranoia. And then the "Time is something you can’t stop, Goncharov" line after Goncharov has blown out the clock in the tower with his gunshot like COME ON who even thinks of something that iconic to say except sexy ass Andrey / sexy ass director Martin Scorsese ughhhh

and finally we reach the death of Goncharov, and the primary theory of all Goncharov enthusiasts: gay sex would've fixed everything. Would it have though... would it really have? Because now we know of Andrey's betrayal. The way he kills Goncharov... and shouldn't we have known it all along when he refused to eat the apple Goncharov offered? And Andrey shoots Goncharov in the back. It's like how in the clock tower, he had his back turned to Goncharov when Goncharov could've shot him... now there is a role reversal, but Andrey does shoot. And he has the chance to shoot Katya too but Katya kills him first. We don't see much one-on-one interaction between Katya and Andrey in this movie but the standoff between Goncharov's love interest and his Literal Wife is so powerful and you can really tell that even though Katya and Goncharov as a couple are over (or were over for a while) she still cares about him strongly. She still loves him. She avenges him swiftly and with no hesitation, not just to save her own life. She is cradling Goncharov's body as she sees Andrey and sheds that last single tear, and she has sympathy for him and his lost love. Katya is so strong. So brave. So beautiful. She is the ultimate strong ass woman and she does right by her dead husband and she kills for love. She is an amazing character and she absolutely is the only one to deserve to live.

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p.s. this was created with the help of a mass document on Goncharov (1973) developed by various Tumblr users. thank you all for your labor of love in creating this doc !!

[dubiousdisco]

I hope goncharov's success will give scorsese the push he needs to finally let Robert de Niro and Al Pacino kiss

[crehador]

floating park artificial somnambulism lets vertin go on a theme park date with tennant at the end of which tennant swindles the shit out of her like first of all thank you ma'am please do it again

but more importantly i'm blown away time and again by how gay this game is in a completely unsubtle way literally all the girls are in yuri with each other it's phenomenal

[whatyouvegotunderyourskirt]

A surprise Goncharov (1973) sighting in a photo of a young Gerard Way, lead singer of My Chemical Romance (2004).

[kiarits]

"What, in particular, do you dislike about this life?". "Everything: the constant running, the eternal play of petty passions, above all greed, the need to cut off each other's legs, the gossip, the gossip, the teasing, the eyeballing ; if you listen to conversations, your head is spinning, you feel lightheaded. At first glance, they all seem intelligent to you, you seem to read so much dignity on their faces, but as soon as you listen to them: "They gave this one this one, this one got the contract." "Why, pray tell?" someone shouts. "The one last night at the club lost everything at the game: the other one earned three hundred thousand rubles!". How boring, how boring, how boring!... But where is the man? Where did he hide? how does he get lost in such futilities?' «The world and society also have to take care of something», Stolz said, «everyone has their own interests. That's life...". “The world, society! Maybe you, Andrej, bring me into this world, into this society just to make me stop wanting to associate with them. Life: good life! What is there to look for there? Interests of the spirit or of the heart? So look where is the center around which all this moves: there is no center, there is nothing profound, nothing that reaches the heart. They are all corpses, all asleep worse than me these individuals who live in the world and in society! What drives them in life? Sure, they don't lie down, all day long they rush back and forth like flies, and what's the point? You enter a hall and you never get tired of admiring the symmetry with which the guests are arranged, the calm, thoughtful attitude with which they... play cards. A great purpose of life, no doubt about it! Excellent example for a mind that needs exercise! And these are not corpses? Maybe they don't sleep sitting all their lives? Why should I be more guilty than they, if I lie at home and not rack my brains with jacks and kings and queens?".

I. A. Goncharov, "Oblomov"

[7-crows-in-a-trench-coat]

my favorite part of goncharov (1973) is after the big fight scene inside the san marco square clock tower when goncharov and andrey stand face-to-face both splattered with blood, as this was mcr’s inspiration for their “three cheers for sweet revenge” album cover

[saints4grrrls]

okay i Know a lot of you don't like the use of volcano shake em up by mcr in the rerelease version of goncharov but i just really need you guys to keep an open mind about this. like yeah obviously its long and experimental and just downright weird at times, but so is the entire movie! i do agree that it was maybe to the film's detriment to use the entire song instead of some abridged version, but the inclusion of such an overtly queer song in a movie that, despite its significance in queer spaces, has been used to silence us in serious film discussions for decades. not to mention just how well it fits? like the discordant "gonna blow"s over the scene where it's revealed that katya faked her death and the pressure is building up for the climax of the film? idk it just feels genius to me. plus there's the meta situation where both the song and the film had kinda been lost to time before a resurgence! it makes so much sense to me and i was overjoyed when i finally watched my rerelease edition dvd and saw that they had added it.

[ichayalovesyou]

This is my carefully curated playlist based on Tumblr's favorite Mafia movie, Goncharov! It is arranged into story order but you can enjoy it on shuffle as well! Normally I color code which songs are about who, but this time around I wanted to leave it up to interpretation, although I think you might be able to tell who my favorite character is lol!

Winter In Naples

“You Need The Fear of God Put Back Into You Goncharov”

Taikatalvi by Nightwish from Imaginaerum • Ruler of Everything by Tally Hall from Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum • Birds With Broken Wings by Ben Caplan from Birds With Broken Wings • Istanbul by They Might Be Giants from Flood • The Cat Came Back by The Laurie Berkner Band from Laurie Berkner’s Favorite Kid Songs • Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz from Gorillaz • Champagne Taste by Eartha Kitt from Totally Crazy • Amar y Vivir by Carlos Rivera from Mexicano • Crazy = Genius by Panic! At The Disco from Death of a Bachelor • Farewell Wanderlust by The Amazing Devil from The Horror and the Wild • Time is Running Out by Muse from Absolution • Aha! by Imogen Heap from Ellipse • Modern Day Cain by I DON’T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME from Modern Day Cain

The Ball

“Your Husband Is As Tasteless As His Counterfeit ‘Boots’, Dear Sister”

Vampire by People In Planes from Beyond the Horizon • Don’t Mess With Me by temposhark from The Invisible Line • There’s A Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven’t Thought of It Yet by Panic! At The Disco from A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out • Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps by Daniel Boaventura & Carlos Rivera from Your Song • Careless Whisper by George Michael from Ladies & Gentlemen The Best of George Michael • Real Men by Mitski from Lush • As The World Falls Down by David Bowie from Labyrinth • I’m A Funny Dame by Eartha Kitt from The Essential Eartha Kitt • Sin un Amor by Carlos Rivera from Mexicano • Bad Romance by Lady Gaga from The Fame Monster • Señor Amante by Kika Edgar from Señor Amante • Take Me To Church by Hozier from Hozier • Disarm by The Civil Wars from The Civil Wars • Femme Fatale by Coyote Kid from The Skeleton Man • Monkeys Uptown by Iron & Wine from Kiss Each Other Clean

Two Cigarettes, One Flame

“A Perfect Pearl Need Only Circumstance, No?”

Pretty Little Head by Eliza Rickman from O, You Sinners • Runs In The Family by Amanda Palmer from Who Killed Amanda Palmer? • 551 by Dessa from Castor the Twin • Wife by Mitski from Lush • The Bed Song by Amanda Palmer from Piano Is Evil • The Moon Will Sing by The Crane Wives from Coyote Stories • Evening On the Ground (Lilith’s Song) by Iron & Wine from Woman King • Better Love by Hozier from Better Love • Arms of A Thief by Iron & Wine from Around the Well • Where Evil Grows by The Poppy Family, Terry & Susan Jacks from A Good Thing Lost: 1968-1973 • Eric by Mitski from Lush • Angie by Bert Jansch from Bert Jansch • I Want To Be Evil by Eartha Kitt from That Bad Eartha • Don’t Get My Hopes Up by S.J. Tucker from Mischief • You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart by Sinéad O’Connor from So Far: The Best of Sinéad O’Conner • Dulce Mal by The Chamanas from Dulce Mal • Don’t You Dare Forget the Sun by Get Scared from Built For Blame, Laced With Shame

The Clock

“How Can Time Be Still, And Still Running Out?”

Blindness by Metric from Fantasies • Come Away To The Water by Maroon 5 & Rozzi from The Hunger Games: Songs of District 12 And Beyond • Era Escuro by Faun from Luna • Fly Me to The Moon by Melodicka Bros. from Fly Me to the Moon (Space Rock) • Glass Heart Hymn by Paper Route from The Peace of Wild Things • Where Butterflies Never Die by Broken Iris from The Eyes of Tomorrow • I Hope Your World Is Kind by Auri from Auri • Ballad of Jeremiah Peacekeeper by Poets of the Fall from Temple Of Thought • Broken Crown by Mumford & Sons from Babel • Dirt And Roses by Rise Against from Avengers Assemble • Marked Man by Mieka Pauley from The Science of Making Choices • If I Had A Heart by Fever Ray from Fever Ray • I Think I Smell A Rat by The White Stripes from White Blood Cells • Paranoid Android by Radiohead from OK Computer • Cool by Ansel Elgort & Mike Faist from West Side Story • That’s My Boy by Vast from Turquoise & Crimson

Ambrosia, The Blood of The Gods

“I’m Gonna Kill That Mario!”

Familia by Nicki Minaj, Angel AA & Bantu from Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse • Onward & Upward by Tommee Profitt & Fleurie from Gloria Regali • The Horror and The Wild by The Amazing Devil from The Horror and the Wild • Breaking the Law by Judas Priest from British Steel • I’m Always Walking as Somebody Else from American Murder Song from Murder Ballads of 1816: The Year Without A Summer • The House Of The Dead by NADA5150 & Mr.Kitty from The House Of The Dead • Adore Me by StarKid Productions from Black Friday • Kill My Friends by gP. from Kill My Friends • 7 Rings by ChuggaBoom from 7 Rings • Heavy Rain by Youth Man from New Moons Vol.1 • Loki by The Mechanisms from The Bifrost Incident • Warflower by The Mayan Factor from In Lake Ch’ • Dead Butterflies by Architects from Meteor • Man or a Monster by Sam Tinnesz & Zayde Wolf from Man or a Monster • The Weeping Song by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds from The Good Son

The Bridge

“If We Really Were In Love You Wouldn’t Have Missed”

What Love Can Heartbreak Allow by Ben Caplan from Old Stock • The Wolf by PHILDEL from The Disappearance of the Girl • Animal Impulses by IAMX from The Unified Field • Don’t Make Me by MALINDA from Don’t Make Me • Shout by Tears for Fears from Songs From The Big Chair • Don’t Call Me Angel by Ariana Grander, Miley Cyrus & Lana Del Rey from Charlie’s Angels • Heaven Knows by The Pretty Reckless from Going to Hell • Castle by Halsey from BADLANDS • Mineshaft 2 by Dessa from Castor, the Twin • Die Anywhere Else by Julia Henderson & Lorenzo de Sequera from Dusk • A Death by an Unkindness from 4 Songs • Despedida by Antonio Pinto & Shakira from Love In The Time of Cholera • Daughter of the Sea by Sharm & Alison M. Sparrow from Daughter of The Sea • Jane Doe by Hail The Sun from Wake • Bag of Bones by Mitski from Lush • Girl Into Devil (I Belong to Me) by S.J. Tucker from Stolen Season

The Train

“We Could Burn It All Down”

Panacea For The Poison by Flobots from Survivor Story • Here Come the Ravens by Aviators from Dystopian Fiction • All Night Long by Peter Murphy from Love Hysteria • A Sadness Runs Through Him by The Hoosiers from The Trick To Life • The Deep by PHILDEL from Wave Your Flags • Irish Hour by Saint Sister from Where I Should End • There Is Still Time by Lorn from The Maze to Nowhere • Happy by Mitski from Puberty 2 • Burned Out by dodie from Human • Where To Begin by Adam Watts from When a Heart Wakes Up • Hungry Like the Wolf by Hidden Citizens & Tim Halperin from Reawakenings • Dark Matter by Les Friction from Dark Matter • I Found by Amber Run from 5AM • The Hearse (Stripped) by Matt Maeson from Bank On The Funeral • The Wolf in Your Darkest Room by Matthew Mayfield from Recoil • The Devil Wears A Suit by Kate Miller-Heidke from Nightflight • Sinking Ship by CAKE from Sinking Ship • Lessons by SOHN from Tremors • Black Sun by Death Cab for Cutie from Black Sun • Die Today by The Txlips Band & Guitar Gabby from Queens of A New Age • Blood Moon by Saint Sister from Madrid • Cinder and Smoke by Iron & Wine from Our Endless Numbered Days • Girl With One Eye by Florence + The Machine from Lungs

The Apple

“Tell Them I’m Sorry, For I Have No Sorrow Left to Give”

The Wanting Comes In Waves/Repaid by The Decemberists from Hazards of Love • Conversations at the End of the World by Kishi Bashi from String Quartet Live • My Way by Chase Holfelder from Major to Minor Vol.2 • We Are Your Nightmares by Cast of Nevermore from Nevermore: The Imaginary Life & Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe • Oh Death by Noah Gunderson from Saints & Liars • The Coldest Goodbye by Mary Kate Wiles from Spies Are Forever • Cathedrals by Jump. Little Children from Magazine • Carry Me Out by Mitski from Bury Me At Makeout Creek • Ghosts With Heartbeats by Plastic Patina from Ghosts With Heartbeats • Blood by My Chemical Romance from The Black Parade

“The film is gone, the only proof thereof Upon a boot, a tag mark’d Goncharov...”

Quotes from the movie Goncharov (1973) provided through art by: @theshitpostcalligrapher @when-sanpape-arts @inthefallofasparrow @not-the-blue @cloudmancy

[zoozoocala]

your first exposure to Goncharov was your dad falling asleep in front of a Scorsese marathon, mine was the Volcano (Shake ‘Em Up!) amv. we are not the same

[cacati]

"goncharov and andrey" this, "gonchrey" that, I DON'T CARE ABOUT THESE MEN. who's gonna be the sofia to my katya

[awittylemon]

i finally watched goncharov after seeing all the tumblr hype and uh. you guys werent kidding about the clock tower scene being a marriage proposal allegory were you

[next-time-you-invite-pam]

Favorite Goncharov / Katya Moments : 1/? 

[folklorepridebitch]

- 𝔾𝕠𝕟𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕠𝕧 (𝟙𝟡𝟟𝟛)

[manonamora-if-reviews]

Goncharov by ExcavatingLizard

============= Links

Play the game See other reviews of the game Follow @excavatinglizard

============= Synopsis

Goncharov's story ended on a bridge, and one way or another, Sofia and Katya were there first. A (very) short VN game considering the relationship between two women tangled up in the greatest mafia movie of all time.

============= Other Info

Goncharov is a RenP'y game, submitted to the Goncharov Game Jam.

Status: Completed Genre: Unreality, Romance, Dark

CW: Blood, death, gun

============= Playthrough

First Played: Dec-2022 Last Played: 1-Sept-2023 Playtime: around 30min (2 endings) Rating: 8/10 Thoughts: The Iconic Bridge Scene

============= Review

Goncharov is a fairly short highly-stylised VN, whose story is based on the iconic bridge scene of the movie, a climax between Katya and Sofia, as truth is revealed, but betrayals can still happen... There are four endings to this game.

Spoilers ahead. It is recommended to play the game first. The review is based on my understanding/reading of the story.

The game was insanely gorgeous. Fully in black and white save for some crimson accent, the visuals portray Sofia and Katya at a stand-still on the bridge, the former wearing a dress and pointing a gun at the latter, wearing a pantsuit. Behind them, the coast of Naples, with a setting sun, with red lines encircling it slowly clockwise. A slight wind brushes through their hair and the hanging dress. The theme helps set the dramatic scene. The subtle animations even gives it that extra oomph.

While the game is titled Goncharov, it refers only in passing to the main character of the movie/meme, focusing instead on those two women*. While it is mentioned Goncharov is coming to take Katya down, he does not show his face, relegated to a line to further Katya's point. The story is about those two women, the betrayal of one of them, and the fatalistic end of their story. *Katya is married to Goncharov, taking on this name as well.

There are three choices in this story, pertaining to Sofia's past actions (killing), Katya's attire, and Katya's beliefs. Each offer one to two screens of variation after the choice. While at least one of these choices will affect the end, I have only found two. I have been wondering if the circling background may be some sort of timer affecting the ending?

I found the topic of Katya's attire quite interesting. It seemed as if she had realised who she really was, and what her place in the world might be, leaving behind the ultra-feminine glamorous outfit as was expected of her being a mafioso's wife for a more masculine relaxed and easier to move around outfit. Shedding herself to the core. A sort of emancipation - which would have fit with the period the "movie" was set to have been released (70s).

Though this might not be the ending I have in my heart for both women, I found the ending where time ran out on Katya the most striking. The fade-to-... white was particularly well done.

[alittle-annihilation]

a real shame mcr’s volcano shake em up (2010) came out after martin scorsese’s goncharov (1973) because can you imagine the repeated “gonna blow” in parallel with second hand on the grandfather clock counting down to katya’s ultimate decision???!!!

[queerhouseplant]

okay, not sure if anyone else has said this but i haven’t seen it anywhere s o i feel obligated to say it.

S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W is clearly the version of Volcano Shake ‘Em Up that made it onto Danger Days. Sure we all know about the paralells between lyrics in planetary and na na na but scarecrow is literally about the lies that parents tell their children when they are trying to hide from bombs/atomic warfare. This draws very direct parallels and themes to how the residents of pompeii must have felt when vesuvius began raining ash and magma on everyone. Parents would have had to hide their children and lie to them and tell that that they’ll be okay even when their impending doom was closing in rapidly. Scarecrow is vseu but modernized to fit into the lives of the killjoys, we dont have volcanos looming over all of us but we do have the very real threat of atomic warfare that we created. I think that volcano shake ‘em up was cut from the album and replaced with scarecrow in order to fit into the kill joys universe, who knows why there was such a significant tone change between vseu and scarecrow (vseu obviously more closely relating to planetary in tone/tempo/etc) but that was the real tribute to vseu because the rest of the songs may have hints but the heart of volcano shake ‘em up lies in scarecrow, it lies where the sunlight dies.