It Happened Near the Sea (Russian: Это было у моря) is a 1989 Soviet drama film directed by Ayan Shakhmaliyeva.
The film begins with the arrival of a young girl called Ilona (Yekaterina Politova), who is brought somewhat reluctantly by her parents to a boarding school clinic, which treats children with polio and other spinal issues.
[4] Life at the school is regimented, with exercises in the morning, lessons during the day, and all pupils compelled to sit and watch Soviet State TV broadcasts in the evenings.
The dominant character among the pupils is Sveta Dzugutov (Nika Turbina), who early on defies the school rules by absconding during the night to visit someone in a nursing home.
She is caught coming back and faces reprimand from the headmistress Iraida Kuchminichna (Svetlana Kryuchkova), who wants to expel her due to her rebellious nature and Western inclinations, but fellow teacher Zoya persuades her to give her another chance.
One girl reveals her father is fighting in the Soviet–Afghan War and her anger about it (a conflict that would end in failure for the Soviet Union just weeks after the film was made).
Meanwhile Ilona is forced by the doctors to have her bodycast, despite her best efforts to resist, partly due to the impression it will make on her new boyfriend, but also because the cast has become a symbol of conformity and control by the school.