"Biography of the hen
The hen always knew her lines, much more often than the actors. She had a squabble with the actress : one day, she thought Inna Tchourikova's eye was a bit of grain... Hens sleep as soon as night falls, but our hen had to wait for long endless hours. She was kept in a warm place while the other hens on the farm gradually got used to winter. But our hen had become a star, she didn't want to leave her "caravan" anymore. We had to gather all the other hens together, her doubles, so that she would come out into the farmyard a little. In the screenplay, there was a love scene between Tchirkounov's rooster and our hen Riaba. We spent txo days trying to talk the rooster into it but winter's not the best season for it. So we strapped the rooster to the hen and he fell asleep on top of her. That's why there's so little eroticism in the film..."
(Andreï Konchalovsky)