I’ve started watching White Bim the Black Ear. Maybe it’ll turn out to be a sort of Lassie Come Home movie.
When I got to this segment last night, I was surprised. People carrying on about dogs having the proper pedigree? In a socialist country? Doesn’t that seem rather Ancien R�gime to be worrying about proper bloodlines and conformation instead of the dog’s ability as a worker?
I puzzled over that several minutes before I had my Duh moment, when I realized that maybe that’s the point. Those aren’t the good guys who are carrying on that way.
Sometimes I’m pretty slow to pick up on the political subtexts in a movie. This wasn’t the first time.
(When we had a dog at our house, it has always been a mutt. No dog aristocrats for us. But we’ve had no dogs at all since T�lpel died after a long dog-life.)
I haven’t found any good obituaries in U.S. newspapers for Nonna Mordukova, who died earlier this month. The one in the Washington Post pointed out that she appeared in some government propaganda films: “Throughout a career that spanned half a century, Ms. Mordyukova appeared in dozens of films, including some textbook examples of Soviet propaganda.”
Well, everyone knows that there were a lot of Soviet propaganda films. But what was surprising to me when I started watching Russian movies was the parts that were subversive of Soviet propaganda, including three roles I can think of that were played by Nonna Mordyukova. If the Post wanted to talk about the political aspects of her work, it should have made that point. These are in three films that are readily available to U.S. viewers via Netflix.
In Vokzal dlya Dvoikh she played the part of an “uncle” who gave an entertaining little lecture on the virtues of private property and free enterprise. I’ve never seen anything like that in a popular U.S. film. In Brilliantovaya Ruka she played the part of a meddlesome building superintendent — in a way that provided social commentary which I suspect was not comforting to all the authorities. And the biggest role was of course as the Commissar in Komissar — a film that was suppressed for 20 years and which even under glasnost was released with extreme reluctance, seeing the light of day only thanks to outside pressure. In an interview, the director Alexandr Askoldov pointed out that even today it is rarely seen in Russia. Nonna Mordukova was one of the actors who interceded on his behalf at the time when the film was suppressed, when Askoldev was facing the possibility of a fate worse than that of being kicked out of the Party and of being prohibited from directing more films (which is what did happen to him).
It’s not that Mordyukova was a political dissident. As far as I know she wasn’t anything of the kind. She even seems to have preferred that Askoldov give in to the censors on the parts of the film that he refused to edit out. (You can see this on the Komissar DVD that contains “extra” material.) But she played a role in conflicts that we would do well to know about.
Here is a page about Mordyukova that gives better information about her work:
Komissar is an interesting case. Most web pages that talk about her work mention her big role in Komissar. But I have found Russian sites that tell about her career without mentioning that film. Same for Rolan Bykov, who played the male lead (see clip below). There are Russian web sites that tell all about his work, except for their silence about that movie.
And now I’ve learned that Komissar is still censored, even at Netflix. The clip below includes several minutes that were not on the one we got from Netflix. I am suspicious of why they were removed, because it seems they are important in leading up to the famous Holocaust scene that got Askoldov in such big trouble. Maybe the producers didn’t want to touch the Turkey-Armenia genocide issue, which is mentioned in this clip. But there are also parts that seem important in developing the character played by Mordyukova — in which she explains some of her views on war service and the political aspects of the wars.
No Russian movies tonight. I’m busy getting ready for some Spokesrider bike rides. I did spend some time with the Russian language, though, starting with one of Viktor D. Huliganov’s lessons.
Then, while working on my maps I listened to YouTube music, and then stumbled upon this song, which I recognize from the movie Obyknovennoye chudo. It’ll be handy having it here so I can learn the words.
And I see that Nastya Kamenskih is in on this kind of music, too. I was somewhat surprised to see her on this stage. I learned about her some months ago when doing a YouTube search for Fabrika Zvezd. Most of the music from Fabrika Zvezd doesn’t bear much repeated listening for me, but the “Ne para” that she did with Potap is one that wears well. She has a good voice, and it seems she and Potap enjoyed working together on stage. It was fun to watch the two respond to each other. I’ve also seen several more recent YouTube clips of her singing with the guy that appears with her in the above clip. (I’ve seen his name, but don’t remember it.) The songs those two do together doesn’t seem to work quite as well. Below is the one she did with Potap on Fabrika Zvezd. I don’t know that they ever topped it — at least not on YouTube.
I see I’ve wondered a long way from Ostrov — from Pyotr Mananov to Dmitri Dyushev to Tamara Gverdtsiteli to Nastya Kamenskih.
Hmmm. I still haven’t worked with my vocabulary flash cards tonight. Better go and do my quota for the evening.
Alexander Sedov asked what kind of movies I like. There are a lot of types I like, but what first came to mind is how I like those that portray the countryside — roadsides, fields, and yards. I also like those that portray people’s homes and mealtimes. I’m one of those strange people who enjoys looking at other peoples’ photos from their vacation trips overseas, but what I’m often looking at is the edges of roads — where vegetation meets the road. I feel I’m getting to know a country when I see that. But I like seeing places of all kinds.
Anyone who has gone over to my Spokesrider web site probably has noticed that I spend a lot of time on the edges of roads. If I ever get to visit Russia, I’d like it to be on a bicycle tour where I can see these things.
Some movies that are memorable for the scenery are Vozvrashcheniye, Comissar, Sudba Cheloveka, Les glaneurs et la glaneuse (A French documentary, not Russian) and Vokzal dlya Dvoikh. And some that were fascinating in how they showed apartments and homes are Moskva slezam ne verit and Ironyia Sudby and (in a different way) Vokzal dlya Dvoikh.
I like movies that can show me these things, regardless of what sort of acting or story they contain.
That’s not a complete answer to Alexander’s question, and I’m not sure it’s completely accurate.
A couple of months ago I was talking to an old family friend who I hadn’t seen for several years. She now has a new Russian daughter-in-law. I told how I had been trying to learn some Russian and how my wife and I have found that we enjoy watching Russian movies together. At one point she asked why I was so interested in Russia. I mumbled something about how the scenery reminded me of Minnesota. She then asked, incredulously, “You like Russia because it reminds you of Minnesota?” Well, no, it isn’t just that. If it’s Minnesota I want, I can go there easily enough for the real thing. (It’s where my parents and some of my siblings live, and where one of our children was born.) I’m not sure I can explain myself what’s so fascinating about it. But I do enjoy watching the movies with scenes that show not just the grand vistas, but what the terrain is like up close and personal.
No movie comments today, even though Alexander Sedov brought up some good topics, and even though I just learned that the great actress, Nonna Mordyukova, died two weeks ago. Her passing deserves more than I’m going to have time to write about tonight.
What I do have is a new YouTube link for learning Russian. It’s a series of videos produced by Viktor D. Huliganov. My wife says he’s like Garrison Keilor. Well, he does have a dry sense of humor and he sings well enough, too. I think he makes his living as an accountant.
I found him by starting with the movie Ostrov. That led me to YouTube clips of Dmitry Dyuzhev, who played Father Job in that movie. Most of the clips are his singing — usually together with Tamara Gverdtsiteli. I happen to like a lot of them, though I don’t know if that’s the kind of music that’s popular among the younger generation.
Some of the clips display the words. Those I find especially useful.
Here’s one of a song titled How Young We Were (Kak molodi mi bili). It led me to want to find a translation, and that’s how I found Huliganov.
Here’s a clip titled “RL 102 – Constructions using Dative”. Following the lesson Huliganov gives a translation of the song and then sings it in a chipmunk voice. I wasn’t sure where he got that, but in other videos I saw that he actually can sing. I hope he keeps producing those lessons. They’re fun to watch, and helpful, too.
Here’s another clip of Dmitry Dyuzhev and Tamara Gverdtsiteli — one that made me want to learn the words of some of their songs. It seems to be a sentimental one that got people all teary.
And is that Barbara Brylska of Irony of Fate who was in the audience, wiping her eyes? Why yes, it is! And after the song I got to hear her voice, too. I was curious about that, because according to Wikipedia her character’s voice was dubbed in the original movie, because she had too much of a Polish accent. She has a deeper voice here than her character in the movie had, but she’s older now, too. (I don’t know if her voice was also dubbed in the sequel that was made 30 years after the original.)
I had just watched the 8th segment of The Sixth (Shestoy) on YouTube when I laid back on my Lazy-Boy, thinking what a pathetic excuse of a movie that is, with no redeeming social or artistic value that I could think of so far. I’ve watched a few other Easterns, but none that were this lacking in anything that would fascinate.
I must have slept longer than my usual 20-minutes, because I was extremely groggy when I was awakened by the phone. And I had been dreaming. I was right in the middle of a dream, where I was leading a group like Sergei Nikonenko’s in a situation where I might have to deal with violent enemies who would take the stuff entrusted to us. I swear, there were some of the same people from that movie with me.
Ack! If an anti-commie like myself has to subconsciously identify with a Soviet militia leader, why couldn’t it be in a better movie than this one?
OK, now that I’ve said that, I’ll watch the 9th and final segment. Not right away, though.
Three days ago I mentioned the flaws in Ostrov — the parts that didn’t seem put together very well. It’s also possible that they aren’t flaws, that there is a symbolism and profundity that I’m too stupid to notice. Whatever the reason, the Tikhon connection was one that seemed even less well done on the second viewing.
This time I’ll mention a part that was better the second time around. It was the relationship between Father Anatoli and Father Job. Somehow I didn’t catch it all the first time around. Maybe I was looking for the usual movie cliches about stodgy organized religion vs the humble, spiritually-minded maverick, so didn’t expect anything important to come of it. But there is more than that, especially if one follows the references to why Cain killed his brother. The relationship between Father Anatoli and Father Job develops to the end. Neither character quits on the other.
I can’t say that Dmitry Dyuzhev, who plays Father Job, is a good actor. (See 6 second clip above.) Nor can I say that he’s a bad one. The Russian monks with their heavy beards are somewhat limited in what they can do through facial expression, but they can use their eyes. I thought Dyuzhev did well.
It seems that Dyuzhev is no more a long-time actor than Pyotr Mamanov. Instead, he’s a singer. The above clip shows a sample.
I recognize 15 of these photoshopped scenes from Russian film classics. What I don’t recognize are most of the American actors’ faces that have been photoshopped onto them, except for Sean Connery in place of Pyotr Mamanov, which I recognize with the help of the transliterated name that’s printed on the poster.
In re-watching the end of Ostrov tonight, I was even more irritated by some of the flaws at the end. The movie is a great one, but now I think the climax is sloppily done. (Go away if you don’t like spoilers.)
One part that bugs me is the exorcism. It’s done well, but the Father Anatoly character doesn’t quite fit. He has already announced that he will be dying shortly, but here he is, looking younger, stronger, cleaner, healthier, and better dressed than he did anywhere else in the movie, either before or after. He wears that heavy coat shown in the above image, where in other winter scenes he’s simply wearing his black robe. And no, it’s not that this scene takes place in bitter cold. There is a pool of water from which he washes Nastya’s face. In bitter cold that pool would have been iced over.
My best guess is that this scene was shot early in the process, while the filmmakers were still trying to feel their way as to how to portray the character. What they finally settled on was perfect. It’s too bad their earlier, less successful experiment (if that’s what this was) couldn’t have been redone.
The following paragraph might be considered a spoiler.
The other part is the final scene with Nikhon. I’m glad it wasn’t done Hollywood style, with hugs and over-dramatization. But the scene doesn’t seem to have made any difference. It doesn’t seem to have mattered much to the characters, and it doesn’t develop either of the character’s characters any further. The first time through I thought maybe I was just too dense to get it, or maybe there was something in the language that didn’t come through in the subtitles. But now, after a second viewing, it just doesn’t seem to work.
It’s still an excellent movie, though. Here is a scene that I just now found on YouTube. It’s one that does work. (Sorry, no subtitles.) It includes the prayer for the healing of the boy. It has especially good acting and good camera work. Note the camera position for that prayer by Pyotr Manonov/Father Anatoly.
Late edit: I said I just now found this clip? I see I had already posted a link to it several days ago. Oh, well.
I’ve already mentioned how some of the camera work in Ostrov reminded me of Vozvrashcheniye. But it’s not just the camera angles and panning of the scenes on the northern seas. There is a similar washed-out quality to the colors. And some of the music is similar. The use of simple piano and woodwind notes helps build a tension, but gently.
This YouTube clip demonstrates some of the color effects (in the scenes that aren’t dominated by the actors’ presence). But I haven’t been able to find a clip that captures the music.
Well, maybe I remembered wrong. Here is a clip from Vozvraschcheniye. Some of the music starts at 6:30, and in many ways it’s not at all like that on Ostrov. But the pacing and effects are somewhat similar. At least they had a similar effect on me.
I think the two clips do show the similarities in the washed out colors. Northern latitudes tend not have the deep blue skies that one gets near the equator, but the effect was exaggerated in both movies.
