Question

RUSSIAN 100:  Reaction Paper/Film ReviewASSIGNMENT:  A) Choose one film from the list of

acceptable films posted below. These are arranged according to the particular period that they treat within Soviet history: 1) Civil War and NEP; 2) Stalinist Russia of the 1930s; 3) World War II; 4) the post-war Stalinist period (roughly 1946-56).  All movies on the list have been released on DVD with English subtitles, and many are available through the Penn State University Libraries or via Netflix.  Some are also available on YouTube. It is your responsibility to obtain one of the acceptable films.

B) In a 3-4 page essay (12-point font, double-spaced), discuss how the film you have chosen treats the historical period that it reflects. Be sure to place your name on the essay and include it in the file name.

C) You need to watch the film critically and evaluate it from the perspective of the information you have gained from the lectures (including film clips!!) and readings for RUS 100 on the period your film reflects.  Please note that this is not a research paper and you should watch the film before reading any critical sources. If you do choose to use critical sources, be sure to document them!!!

D) Try not to speak in generalities, but to make your discussion of the historical and political significance of the film concrete. To do this, at a minimum, you will need to look carefully at the characters and their ideas and at 3 or 4 specific scenes. Do not spend an extraordinarily long time setting the historical background (one paragraph should do it).  Instead, integrate historical facts within your discussion of characterization, setting(s), and other aspects of the film you have chosen.

Acceptable films for reaction paper for RUS 100

1) Films about the CIVIL WAR AND 1920’s

October (1928), directed by Sergei Eisenstein and Georgy Aleksandrov.  Based on John Reed’s Ten Days that Shook the World, this celebrated silent film reenacts the drama of the Bolshevik Revolution.

Comissar (1967) directed by Aleksandr Askoldov.  A Civil War film based on a short story by Soviet writer Vasily Grossman.  The time is 1920 and the setting is a small Western Ukrainian town known for its large Jewish population in the pre-WWII period. Because the movie sympathetically portrays a Jewish family, it was banned by the KGB and its director’s career was curtailed. When the film was finally released in 1987, it was internationally acclaimed. The film portrays tragic events with a good measure of authentic Jewish humor.

The White Sun of the Desert (1973) directed by Vladimir Motyl.  Set in Central Asia during the Civil War, the Red Army clashes with counter-revolutionary robber bands.  Demobilized soldier Fyodor Sukhov is charged with protecting the women who made up the former harem of the brutal bandit Abdulla.  Though the film was largely ignored in the west, its blend of action, comedy, and music (based largely on the urban song tradition of the 1960s) rendered it something of cult movie in Soviet and Russian culture.

Shine, Shine My Star (1969), directed by Aleksander Mitta.  Taking its title from an old romance and set in the south of Russia in 1920, this film treats the story of young actor during the tumultuous period of the Civil War.

Heart of the Dog (1988), directed by Vladimir Bortko. Based on the novel by Mikhail Bulgakov and set during NEP, this film recounts the story of the whacky surgeon with bourgeois inclinations Professor Preobrazhenskii and his transformation of a stray dog (Sharik) into the “human” Sharikov.  Sharikov quickly adopts official Soviet ideology, and the results are both hilarious and uncomfortably probable… 

2) Films about the STALINIST PERIOD (1930s)

Baltazar’s Feasts or The Night with Stalin (1989), directed by Yury Kara. Based on a chapter of Fazil Iksander’s novel Sandro of Chegem and set in the Caucausus, the film tells the story of a feast at which the Abkhaz folk ensemble performs for Stalin and his entourage. Set on the eve of the purges, the film offers insight into the mechanism of repression and terror in Stalinist Russia.

Burnt By the Sun (1995) directed by Nikita Mikhalkov. A long summer day in 1936. Colonel Kotov, an aging military hero of the Bolshevik revolution, is enjoying the sweet life in his country house together with his captivating young wife Marusia, their six-year-old daughter, and numerous family members and friends. Into this idyllic setting enters Dmitry, a young man who was Marusia’s lover a decade ago before leaving under mysterious circumstances. Dmitry now works for Stalin’s secret police, and it becomes clear that he has returned with an agenda.

 Tomorrow Was the War (1987) directed by Yuri Kara. Based on a story of the same name by Boris Vasiliev, this film recreates with an amazing authenticity the atmosphere of the Soviet Union during the Stalinist Terror of the late 1930s. The setting is a small provincial town in 1940.  A schoolgirl recites poems by “banned” poet Sergey Esenin. Soon her father is arrested as “an enemy of the people”…

3) Films about the SECOND WORLD WAR

The Cranes are Flying (1957) directed by Mikhail Kalatozov. Veronica and Boris are blissfully in love, but the eruption of World War II tears them apart. Boris is sent to the front…and then communication stops. Meanwhile, Veronica tries to ward off spiritual numbness while Boris’s draft-dodging cousin makes increasingly forceful overtures. Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival, The Cranes Are Flying is a superbly crafted drama, bolstered by stunning cinematography and impassioned performances.

Ballad of a Soldier (1959 ) directed by Grigory Chukhrai. The film presents a human side of WWII and the effect of war on people living through incredible hardships. Russian soldier Alyosha Skvortsov is granted a visit to his mother after he single handedly fends off two enemy tanks. As he journeys home, Alyosha encounters the devastation of his war-torn country, witnesses glimmers of hope among the people, and falls in love.

 Father of a Soldier (1965) directed by Rezo Chkheidze. The late 50s and the early 60s, known as the Thaw period, produced several masterpieces in Soviet cinematography, and most of them were inspired by the WWII theme. Father of a Soldier is one of them.  Produced by a Georgian film director and played by a Georgian actor (Sergo Zakariadze), it tells a story of a simple Georgian peasant dragged into the central event of his time by joining the Soviet army because he seeks his son. It is an instructive, touching, honest, and beautiful movie.

Ivan’s Childhood (1962), directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. Tarkovsky’s first feature film tells the story of an orphan named Ivan who carries out reconnaissance missions for the Red Army during WWII.  Set on the eastern front as the Soviet army attempts to repel the advancing German army, the story is developed with frequent flashbacks and dream sequences. A difficult, but brilliant film.

The Cuckoo (2002) directed by Alexander Rogozhkin. An award winning film, The Cuckoo is set near the end of World War II in Lapland. It is an unusual, funny, but simple anti-war movie with just three characters – a Russian soldier, a Finnish soldier and a Lapp (Saami) woman–and all of them speak different languages. 

4) Films about the late STALINIST PERIOD (1946-early 1950s) 

The Thief (1997) directed by Pavel Chukhrai. Katya, a poor and desperate widow and her young son, Sanya, try to survive in the post-World War II Soviet Union during the late 1940s and early 1950s. While on a train, they meet the handsome, rakish officer Tolyan, who seduces the mother. Nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, The Thief won many Russian awards. As with many Russian films, this one reflects Russia’s struggle with the legacy of Joseph Stalin.

 The Cold Summer of 1953 (1987), directed by Aleksandr Proshkin.  A highly charged political drama set in a remote Siberian village in the months following Stalin’s death. Two political prisoners attempt to protect a tiny village from a brutal gang of criminals. 

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