Burnt by the Sun

"Burnt by the Sun", directed by Nikita Mikhalkov, was a very moving film to watch. It was not only one of my favorite films we have watched so far in class, yet it was also very interesting and in-depth.

This film focused on Colonel Kotov, and follows his very close and personal relationships with both his wife Marusia and daughter Nadya. They seem to be a tight-knit family from the beginning, upholding Kotov as a very well-regarded individual. He is highly regarded not only within his family and close friends, but also within the community, a man to call upon when there is trouble. As the story developed, and we got an insight into what Kotov and Mitya's relationship entailed, I got more and more interested to see how it would turn out. I really liked Kotov, and thought that Mikhalkov did a great job in his performance. In comparison to Chapaev, I thought Kotov was more well-rounded. He had a great family, friends, reputation, and was very intelligent. We were shown that Chapaev is not very smart, yet he still knew how to please his rankings and keep them close to him. Kotov is VERY well respected, and upholds his strong beliefs about Stalin throughout.

I thought it was interesting when Mitya turned out to be involved in political things towards the end. Throughout Mitya's stay at the house, it seemed to affect Kotov, but not that much. He showed that he was a strong person, and knew that Marusia would always stay true to him, not relapsing towards her old flame. I found Mitya very conniving and obtrusive to the family, although he was welcomed. He won over Nadya with his piano playing and fun personlity, yet I didn't believe he was there for the right motives. I personally thought that Kotov was arrested with a personal motive behind it. Kotov said no matter what he would be for "the Russian people", and we knew that he was close with Stalin. I believe that Kotov was a very respected man, and had nothing to do with going behind Stalin's back.

The interesting ball of flame provoked interest as well..although I found it to be super random. Nadya singing the song throughout the film showed me that something bad was eventually going to happen. The line that had the words "crimson red sea flows" or something like that kind of hinted to me that blood would be shed and it would probably be Kotovs. I was somewhat happy at the end when Mitya was shown dead, because I think I got so attached to the strong relationship between Nadya and her father. Just thinking about all of the people that this probably happened to in Soviet Russia makes me angry. It shows me also that some of these Stalin followers in the end got screwed over more than others, although you would think it should be the other way around.

**Circus**

After viewing my first Russian musical, I can come to the consensus that it was not a very atypical musical, compared to what I am used to in America. We had another clear choice for a hero(ine) in this film, Marion in my opinion, who was not only striking with beauty but in talent as well.

The first connection I made between these two socialist realism films was that they both developed a relationship. Both of these relationships were formed under very unique circumstances, one within a war, the other within the Russian Circus scene. I am very intrigued by this, not only because it is SO packed with Social realistic traits, yet that it is actually believable. Petrovich was a very interesting character, seemed a little out of reach at the beginning, yet always seemed compassionate towards Marion. Marion was a mysterious character to me throughout the movie, obviously because we didn't learn her "terrible" secret until the end. She was, in my opinion, the hero in this movie. With a little help from Rayechka at the end of the film, she got the courage to defy the evil hold that her secret-keeper held over her head. She also saved the opening act of the newest attraction at the circus, and made it a great spectacle.

The ending number in this film was astoundingly chocked full of Russian propaganda, from what I can tell. Along with the normal flags adorned with Lenin's picture, and it would be presumed that red was the color on the flag, there was so much Russian culture lingering in the air. The star was portrayed a ton at the end of the film, and I thought the choice of words in the lullaby were interesting. They kind of gave a pro-Russian feel to the diagetic song, repeating that "Russia does not discriminate against ANY colored children, no matter if they are red, black, white, pink...etc" This was so interesting to me, because it was basically saying "We don't discriminate, we love everybody, that is why Russia is the BEST!" Obviously I could be reading wrong into this, but I thought that this showed the most Social Realism in the film. It was pretty funny to see what the ending of this movie turned out to be, because it was so unexpected and unique. I would definitely place this film smack dab in the middle of the art/entertainment/propaganda "triangle"...it was entertaining with the circus, rich with music sung by the actors/actresses, and as I just explained, it had a great deal of propaganda at the end.

Oh and this was also a great film because Petrovich was very attractive.

-Chapaev-

So after viewing our first REAL sound film, I was relieved. It was so much easier to follow, and just something that our culture is used to. It did a much better job getting me interested compared to Battleship Potemkin, for a few reasons. First off, we had a real main character, that could now talk and make us feel like he was actually there. I also think that this movie could appeal more to the ladies in Russia, because there was a love story intertwined in it. It wasn't too gushy, and it worked for this movie.

General Chapaev's character was awesome. I really liked how he made me not only understand what he had at stake (such a revved up reputation), but made me feel for him when they were ambushed and he had to make a decision to make or break his life. At the beginning of the movie, he seemed a bit rash, asking Petka to shush people outside so he could "think". Yet while the movie developed, we as the audience experience some of his private moments, like teaching his commander skills in battle, and meeting his Commissar. They had a rocky relationship at first, because Chapaev kind of thought he was too good for any old Commissar. It turned out that he gave some really great advice, and showed Chapaev that it was super important for him to be there. He helped in the intellectual aspect, which is something Chapaev was not expecting.

Chapaev also used sound to it's full potential in my opinion. He made sure his point got across, even if he had to scream extremely loud!! I feel as if he is not the original hero in this movie, but he is moved to becoming it throughout. He realizes he is not young like Petka and Anka, and he is not the smartest. Yet at the end, he tries to get away, and dies in battle like a true hero should.

Battleship Potemkin

This film was much much different, as we were told, than the Bauer films. Not only were the sets, actors, and plot lines different, but the propaganda was very eminent throughout.

There were a few things that I had questions on. I didn't really follow all of the stories together, I wish that there had been a few more explanations so that I could understand what exactly was going on most of the time when one part would end and another begin. Another thing I wish I could find out is what ever happened to that poor baby! The scene on the Odessa staircase came out of nowhere, and startled me for sure. It was crazy, yet definitely something to remember. I am not familiar with the "baby carriage rolling out of control down the stairs" part, and I would like to know what other films have taken this scene and made it into something of their own!

There were several things that caught my eye in this movie. The mutiny was one of my favorite scenes, along with the end. I truly felt sympathetic for the crewmen, because their higher powers were acting a bit ridiculous. This movie showed VERY well the mixed feelings and different sides (Tsar army on the steps, crowds of people on steps, different ranks of men on boat). From watching this, I cannot wait to see what Soviet propaganda films can do with sound and conversation!!

Evgeni Bauer Short Films

Throughout all of these silent films, I felt not only some urges to tune out, but an astonished feeling as well. It is absolutely crazy how much the actors, directors, along with everyone else involved in these movies knew about film. The acting seemed somewhat amateur at times, giving a little more expression that we would deem necessary in our society today, but it all worked. It makes sense, how else were the actors/actresses in the early 20th century supposed to do their job? It was also quite significant to me that the direction of the film was obviously led well. There is an obvious plot line in every film, yet each has its own twists and turns. These are somewhat complicated story lines as well, and I could not imagine having to act it out myself. Although silent films prove to be understandable and quality, I still believe that overall, films with sound make more sense. There are some certain advantages that were taken advantage of, such as dramatic acting. It makes these films more interesting because we need to FOCUS on the actors/actresses, we cannot just tune out. This can be a challenge for the viewer as well, because tuning out for any reason could lead to confusion for the rest of the film. These films are as good as you make them, as I would say.

As for the three movies we watched last class, I would have to say "The Dying Swan" was by far the most intricate and creepy. Gizella's character was acted out well, especially because she had to portray a mute in the movie. Glinsky's motives were clear, that he was obviously obsessed with death, yet his motives for having Gizella model for him were unclear to me until the end. I like that the silent films in this time period were also dabbling in the scary genre. I found that Gizella and Glinsky's actions were well executed, yet the story got a bit hazy at the end.

"A Child of the Big City" was not my favorite, yet I though it had potential. As I have read on other blogs, I agree that Mary did not seem all that bad. Yes, she was acting very impolite at the splendid dinner she attended with Viktor, yet I wish that Evgeni Bauer would have shown more interest in exploiting her doing other wrong things, such as spending all of Viktors' money, etc. It was a good story, yet I thought it could have been a little more detailed.

Last but not least, I thought that "The 1002nd Ruse" was a bit odd. This one I thought was a bit slow, and could have expanded the funny cheating scene a bit more. The creepy old man was a good actor, he made me feel creeped out and sufficiently showed his feelings for his wife.

PT. 2 of "Irony of Fate"

After watching the second half of this film, most of the ideas I had about the first part followed suit. The themes of Russian nationalism, for example their immense pride in the New Year, continued to uphold tradition and played a large role. The classic love triangle evolved throughout this part of the film, showing that Russian comedy can also be a riot.

I liked how this story evolved. It is not very typical, and it somewhat tricks the audience. It has a different edge to it, because it was a complete accident that turned into a life-changing event. It was unexpected, yet believable and funny. The nationalistic Russia was portrayed by again the apartment buildings, to things such as the New Years Day celebration. Friends were viewed so highly, and so were relationships with people such as mothers/girlfriends/boyfriends. The music also continued to shape the plot and movie, with characters such as Zhenya and Nadya playing and singing throughout Pt. 2.

This movie turned out to be funny, yet it touched on what we read about for homework last night, it also aimed to teach a lesson. No one in this world really knows what is out there until something crazy and out there happens. Such as these two, their random meeting led them down the crazy path of the unknown. These few pointers on life were atypical for Russian film, and it was interesting to see one in action.

Thoughts on "Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!"

I honestly did not know what to expect when I first started watching this film, yet it surprised me greatly!! From previous knowledge, I have learned that the Russians have never been an atypical society. By actually viewing that society was very structured, with things like the apartment buildings, this movie reiterated the fact that society is/was different.
This comedy, "Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!" is unique. I found myself laughing a lot at this film, and I have enjoyed it thus far. Most of the comedies in America and it's past focus on the ridiculous behavior of the characters in the film. This film shows that even all the way in Moscow, men love to drink and act extremely silly during their drunken actions. Zhenya is the prime example in this movie, getting too drunk to function and ending up on a plane in a different part of Russia! He completely (so far) has ruined his chances to spend the new year with Galya. This is funny to me, and probably to other cultures as well. The thing that is very different culturally wise with American and Russian comedies in my opinion thus far is the songs that were sung in the Russian film. This usually doesn't happen in American comedies.
It has some similarities to other cultures, yet it shows some very different parts of culture. First of all, the apartment buildings were very prominent in the cities. It is believable that Zhenya mixed up the buildings, because they look so similar! That is funny on its own, yet so culturally driven towards the Soviet Union. Yes, it is peculiar, yet it is entertaining. The bathhouses on the other hand are VERY peculiar, especially since they are still keeping the tradition strong in the 70's! Another interesting aspect that popped out to me was the true importance of the New Year. The characters, such as Ippolit, spoke of it so highly..."the old year..the New Year." It was interesting to see that this culture and how it works, and how it keeps the tradition of family and people close to you important for this holiday.
All in all, this movie so far has shown me how different the Russian culture is from Americans, yet how it is still funny and can relate to people around the world.