A Russian Youth

A sordid WWI movie about the grit and determination of a very young Russian soldier, who contributes despite seemingly unsurmountable personal adversity, and that also without actually firing bullets!

A young naive boy. The war. An orchestra prepairing Rachmaninoff concerto. The lost of sigh of the boy, the insults against him, a cvery simple world of peasants and the German captivity. And Rachmaninoff . It is difficult to define this film. It seems too short and without real end. It seems too simple and only a sort of sketch. The performance of Vladimir Korolev is convincing and the cinematography reminds, in few scenes, the art of Aleksandr Petrov. But it reminds beautiful and more than a try. First, because it preserves all the colors, flavors and emotions of the war films from Soviet era . Second - because it reminds things about silence is more precious than any speech. Not the last because it is a provocative film. It gives not a personal story but the story of an entire people front to the world and the seeds of revolution, occupation, fears and compromises and, not less, different, tragical forms of blindness. The young private can be another Prince Myshkin. Witness of the fall of a world.

Life is undervalued. Depreciated. I finished watching «A Russian Boy», which I found brilliant, and read comments from persons who live in countries with armed forces, and many find natural using the young as cannon fodder to maintain power. Maybe the discourse of fighting for the homeland, democracy or the flag has blinded them, for armies really fight for land, water, minerals, money, brains, etc. Some persons from countries without soldiers, boast of it as civilized pacifists, but endorse the military actions from powerful nations. And the UN's.

«A Russian Youth» is Aleksandr Zolotukhin's debut feature and tells the story of Aleksey, an adolescent peasant who, during the First World War (1914-18), is blinded during an attack by the German army, and is henceforth assigned to alert enemy aircraft advance. Among actors, few are as good as Stanislavski's countrymen, so Wladimir Korolev gives an emotional and moving performance as the young soldier, portraying his bravery, fortitude, and tickle. In addition, Zolotukhin sought out non-professional actors on the street, in factories, in military schools, in orphanages, and together they created a vivid and complex portrait of the state of Russia on the eve of the 1917 revolution.

For impressive war images, Soviet cinema was a great school and today the Russian film industry does not need anyone to instruct it in special effects. (Even less in visual effects, which are a marvel). They handle the pyrotechnics and show all the impetus of the attacks and within the barracks with virtuosity, balanced with beautiful portraits of landscapes and human settlements, thanks to the first-rate handling of light and color by cinematographer Ayrat Yamílov

Now, some of the commentators that I read ask what is a contemporary symphony orchestra doing in the middle of the story, rehearsing two compositions by Sergei Rachmaninoff and in present time? Some say it was disturbing, others found annoying the intercuts between past fiction and documentary images. I found it smart and inspiring. People do not have to know that the pianist and composer was censored by the communist regime and that seeing a Russian orchestra performing his works today is a "reconciliation", but... an orchestra almost entirely made up of boys and girls as young as the soldiers in the war tale, does not suggest anything to the viewer? It is as if Zolotukhin would be telling us, "Thanks to all those young soldiers who died for the 'freedom of Russia', these other young people today can be part of a symphony orchestra." Or even worse ... how many of today's young people care about the "sacrifice" of their countrymen from the early 20th century? It is a basic reading, but it is no less valid.

However, apart from the fact that the adequate scoring with Rachmaninoff's music magnifies the dramatic effect of the war scenes, Aleksandr Zolotukhin's clever montage of war drama and documentary shots of a music rehearsal, is a magnificent masterclass on how to score movies, where to use silence for dramatic effect, where to allow only natural sound (when Aleksey listens to the environment, to detect airplanes), or where to suddenly cut the epic music for battles, and find other tonalities in Rachmaninoff, related to defeat, fear, death.

A recommended film without reservation, with short and precise running time: 72 minutes.