Russian Language Hall of Fame

Tools    





The thing isolated becomes incomprehensible
Ballad of a Soldier (1959; Grigoriy Chukray)

A very beautiful anti-war film that focused on the russian experience of thw WW II.
It has a very strong opening, and even if it doesn't quite keep the level through out the film, it ends very beautifully.
I liked the sountrack and the cinematography very much and the acting is surprisingly good! Also, it's nice to see a russian film, particularly about war, that's not inherently a very heavy and hard watch! It makes this HoF more balanced!

Nice nom!

-



2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ
Planeta Bur



Finally got to kicking off this HOF last night. I'll echo what a lot of people have said, I thought it was a pretty tedious film for only being 79 minutes long. The concept of the film was very intriguing though, and I liked what went on when they were on the planet, much to the point that I thought even more excitement would end up happening. I wish the execution of the story would have been a bit better, and that I would have felt some more connectivity to the characters. I also am not sure if it was just the copy I watched but the subtitles we're difficult to read at times with the font of it and also at times the speed. All this combined made me not care for the film as much as I could have. Still, it's interesting to watch films like these even if they aren't that good, as strange as that sounds.






Visitor of a Museum / Посетитель музея (1989)
Directed By: Konstantin Lopushanskiy
Starring: Viktor Mikhaylov, Vera Mayorova, Vadim Lobanov

Visitor of a Museum reminded me of Tarkovsky's Stalker at times, though it has its own distinct style and atmosphere. The post-apocalyptic setting of Visitor is never outright explained, but rather it is slowly constructed through the film's visuals, themes, characters, and small lines of dialogue that occasionally refer to ecological disasters, flooding, and chemical waste. It's a clever way to build the film's world while maintaining an air of mystery and intrigue, and I thought it was incredibly well handled.

Colourized scenes, particularly the dark reds that accompany every night, help set the tone, and provide a stark contrast against the blinding light and pale blues found in some of the daylight shots. The interesting visuals are definitely one of the film's highlights, and they helped alleviate some of the problems I had with
Visitor of a Museum overall. The performances were not exactly consistent, which often proved to be a distraction. The main character in particular frequently jumped from being completely fine to hilariously overly dramatic, sometimes in a matter of seconds.

While I quite enjoyed the first half of the film, I did find the latter half to be a bit of a chore. Some of the scenes seemed to drag on for much longer than necessary, and the shift into a more ambiguous plot with overtly religious messages were not that appealing to me. I might have found it more interesting if some of those scenes were edited down a bit, or at the very least if there wasn't so much screaming during the last half of the runtime. I'm not sure what to make of the film, because parts of it are amazing, while other parts are almost unbearable. It's definitely a memorable film though, and I'm glad it was nominated because I likely never would have stumbled across it on my own.



Attachments
Click image for larger version

Name:	Visitor.jpg
Views:	384
Size:	192.6 KB
ID:	47346  



I guess I'm technically done now, but I'm going to rewatch Stalker before I finalize my list. I was planning to rewatch at least parts of it, but Visitor sharing some similarities has me interested in watching the entire thing again.



Sorry if I'm rude but I'm right
It's so amusing to see how Planet of Storms surpassed so many people. It's not a great film, but a pretty good one.

Ballad of a Soldier is a total masterpiece, and anybody who thinks otherwise... has the right to their own opinion. Now who'd thought that would happen?!
__________________
Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.



2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ
I guess I'm technically done now, but I'm going to rewatch Stalker before I finalize my list. I was planning to rewatch at least parts of it, but Visitor sharing some similarities has me interested in watching the entire thing again.
You are done and I just started. Funny.



“I was cured, all right!”
A Visitor to a Museum (1989) by Konstantin Lopushansky


★★★★★


The Sorrow!
The sensory fear of a post-apocalyptic universe has never been so well realized. The red lights that melt the colors of hell are the tens that make up the narrative of this enigma of sensations. An ambiguous world filled with despair and tragedy. The world of A Visitor to the Museum is a true picture of hell!

From the initial moments on the way to the 'museum', until we contemplate the end of sanity amid the chaos, Konstantin Lopushansky does not let the tension cease. Even amidst the most relaxed scenes, the reddish illumination was there, to remind us constantly that misfortune hangs over this world!

The horror sequences are made up of noises and screams of despair. The waves illuminated by the apocalyptic redness is an image that will stay in my memory forever!

The fantastic camera work is so well done that made me stop to accompany it! A rare case, since I'm always in constant contact with the composition of the movements. This is just another reason to rewatch this fantastic movie!

The long walk through the void at the end of the movie made me gasp, when the credits rolled, my first reaction was to rewind the last seven minutes, and then watch again and again. One of the most impressive endings I've ever had the pleasure of seeing! The birds, the illumination, the cries, the despair!

The film does not deliver conventional dramaturgical solutions. Honestly, after the first thirty minutes I no longer wanted to know about any museum, I just wanted to contemplate this character surrounded by this obscure world.

And I'm not interested in a solution to this puzzle, what disaster could have happened? What exactly it's in the museum? -Maybe I'll find some answers watching a second time but it doesn't matter. The questions that drive the movie are the reason I got scared, that's the kind of horror that scares me, that makes me feel chills! The sensory horror that enters my brain and makes me think of horrible things.





The Cranes Are Flying (1957)


About a week ago I was watching I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978) a film about the Beatles' American invasion in 1964, and outside a movie theater was a poster...The Cranes Are Flying. I thought that was kind of cool.

Very impressive film. Tatyana Samoylova who played the lead, Veronika was amazing. When I was looking for photos for this write up I noticed she almost always had a distant far away look in her eyes, and her face was taunt like she was deeply focused and burying pain deep inside. You can see that in the above photo.

The opening scenes reminded me of Fellini before he delved into surrealism. It was like every scene was imbibed with energy and the joy of life. Then in the second and third acts, the film is more claustrophobic, with tight camera shots on the actors stressed faces. That all worked well.

I loved the story too, young love: devoted, ethereal and all encompassing. Then comes the war and that innocents in shattered by the German onslaught. I like the way the film captured that dichotomy. There was one camera shot that really brought home what it must have been like for the Russian population to know the Nazis were close to marching into the heart of their city.



All the actors were very good, in that they seemed very personable and not at all like actors. I loved it when Veronika went to get her squirrel back. What a jerk her husband was!

Definitely a landmark in Soviet film making.


Attachments
Click image for larger version

Name:	The Cranes Are Flying 1957 (2).jpg
Views:	380
Size:	106.6 KB
ID:	47441   Click image for larger version

Name:	The Cranes Are Flying 1957 (1).jpg
Views:	300
Size:	110.3 KB
ID:	47442  



“I was cured, all right!”
Guys, I'm going to travel tonight and I'll be offline for the next five days! When I get back, I'll finish the missing films!



Guys, I'm going to travel tonight and I'll be offline for the next five days! When I get back, I'll finish the missing films!
Have a good trip, and we'll be here when you get back I won't probably be done with the movies by then. I have 4 more to go, I think?



2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ
Ballad of a Soldier



Very good film, I was worried I wouldn't like my blind nomination bit that was not the case.

There were actual times I was wondering if I would consider it a masterpiece. It does fall short of that though. I actually didn't like the beginning of the film, because I didn't like what it spoiled. But it didn't ruin the film for me either.

It is a beautiful film and is shot very well. The best of it being that very end scene, where the main character rides away in the vehicle with the mother watching. Very powerful. I also liked the relationship between Aloysha and Shura. It felt genuine to me that something liked this could have really happened. The acting itself isn't groundbreaking but it's certainly good enough.

I think it's just that beginning for me that doesn't make it be at the highest level, because while I felt emotionally invested, it felt like it played it's card too soon. Although I can't wrap my head around exactly why. Real good film though.




Ballad of a Soldier

...I actually didn't like the beginning of the film, because I didn't like what it spoiled. But it didn't ruin the film for me either....
Somebody else said that too. I must be dense cause when I seen the opening scene and then the film flashed backwards, I thought the end of the film would be very different. Maybe I missed something? What I though would happen in the end was:

WARNING: "End" spoilers below
That the mother was left waiting on the road for her son that never returned from the war.



2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ
Oh I had no clue that it would certainly end that way, but it may have been stronger of an ending if the beginning was different. If that makes any sense.



Oh I had no clue that it would certainly end that way, but it may have been stronger of an ending if the beginning was different. If that makes any sense.
I guess I see what you're saying. I should look for the other review that mentioned the opening as giving away the ending (it didn't for me, but maybe I missed something? It wouldn't be the first time!) Anyway great nomination, my wife really like it too. So far all the noms have been very good.



WARNING: "Ballad of a Soldier Ending" spoilers below
I was under the impression that his mother never saw him again after he first left to go to war, so the fact that he did get back to see her for a few minutes seemed a bit odd to me. I think it would've been far more effective if he wasn't able to make it around the collapsed bridge at all. It would be heartbreaking for him to make it so close to home, only to have to return to his post, where we know from the opening narration that he will perish.