Der Woroschilow Schütze

"The Rifleman of the Voroshilov Regiment" admittedly has on one of the most overused and routine plots that exists in our traditional cinematic universe. It's yet another umpteenth version of the "Death Wish" story line, but still there are two tiny aspects that make the film quite unique and really made me want to see it. First of all, it's an authentic Russian production; entirely spoken in the native language and with those bizarre letters from the Russian alphabet used the title sequences. Honestly how many "regular" thrillers from Russia do you have the chance of seeing in your life? I've seen a handful of oddball Russian Sci-Fi movies from the sixties, and more recently the "Night Watch" trilogy, but those are all fancier films that were intended for the international export market. "The Rifleman of the Voroshilov Regiment" is a really small-scaled film, shot in a typical Russian village and starring ordinary Russian people. Secondly, the loving family member bent on extracting blood vengeance isn't the girl's father, brother or fiancée…It's her grandfather! On her way back home on a bright Wednesday afternoon, the incredibly cute teenage girl Katya is lured into the apartment of three macho thugs, one of which she went to school with. It naturally doesn't take long before they drug and gang-rape her. The investigation is rapidly closed, since one of the rapists' father is the police commissioner. Katya's devoted granddaddy Fjodorovich can't accept that his sweet girl locks herself inside the house and grows increasingly paranoid while those filthy scumbags remain unpunished, so he buys himself a massive – and I do mean MASSIVE – sniper rifle and meticulously prepares his quest for revenge. What are the differences between an average aged Charles Bronson and a retired 70-year-old one? I guess it's in the details. Fjodorovich carefully puts the flowerpots back on the table after he shot a rapist in the testicles from a window across the street, rejoins his friends who are playing chess on the market square and stands along in the curious crowd when the ambulance arrives. The screenplay also masterfully captures how Fjodorovich clearly doesn't care too much about what the possible consequences are for him in case he gets caught; as he purely acts out of love and compassion for his beloved granddaughter. "The Rifleman of the Voroshilov Regiment" is a slow- paced, but beautifully intense and absorbing drama rather than an exciting and furious revenge thriller. Our senior citizen Mikhail Ulyanov puts down a magnificent performance and, thanks to him coming across as a completely normal and prototypical grandfather, his character promptly earns all the viewer's sympathy and support. The rest of the cast is very good as well, the musical score is serene yet sublime and the climax (more or less anti-climax, in fact) is courageous, intelligent and subtle. This film is fairly obscure, but worth tracking down for sure. The copy that I own started with apologies from the company that provided the subtitles for all the probable errors. Yes, well, many of the wordings in English were quite incorrect, but on the other hand I never would have been able to follow the movie if it were in Russian, so I gladly forgive them!

If you enjoy stuff like Ms 45, Hobo with a Shotgun, I Spit On Your Grave, this is in your boat. I have to say, i haven't been bored during this whole movie at all, and that happens really, really, rarely. Besides Lilya4Ever and Come & See, this is in the same top list of the best Soviet films i have ever seen.

Now, everything here is incredibly powerful. The start is extremely powerful, and middle is kind of slow, but then it just rockets again. There is only one funny moment in this whole movie, however, minus that one scene, everything here is pitch black serious. The strongest scene in this whole movie, is when the girl the victim appears with her long hair, smiling at the officer, that was one of the most powerful things i have ever seen.

The writing is strong, the acting seems to be working great. I loved this movie, it's the Russian Hobo with a Shotgun!

"Voroshilovskiy strelok" is definitely one of the best Russian movies! Great script, great cast, great visuals.

Needless to say, Mikhail Ulyanov masterfully played his role, very touchingly, truthfully and emotionally performed every action, every word. Ivan Fedorovich is the embodiment of a pure and honest person who believes that people should be kind, that there should be no moral dirt in the world, that one should live in such a way that one should not be ashamed of oneself before death. He brings up his granddaughter just like that - kind, honest and sympathetic.

I really admire the film, I watched it more than once, so I highly recommend it to everyone!

I really want to believe that similar pictures will still appear in Russian cinema, affecting the soul, forcing us to think about the serious problems of society! This movie deserves all the praise!

Shift the setting to New York, or the English countryside, and make the violence of all varieties more prevalent and graphic, and 'The rifleman of the Voroshilov regiment' could easily be a 70s exploitation flick. More than a few "video nasties" were produced of a very similar nature, were they not? The rendition of the revenge flick that we get here isn't nearly so visceral. Whether willful or imposed, its restraint is refreshing. Perhaps as a result, however, this also isn't as readily absorbing as it could be. We get all the story beats familiar to the genre, just without the thrills or general investment to accompany them. This certainly isn't to say that 'The rifleman' is bad - just not necessarily altogether satisfying.

I will say that star Mikhail Ulyanov puts in a solid performance as the protagonist, retiree Fyodorovich, filled with spite and nuanced range. The screenplay is filled with a dire sense of realism in the corruption, indifference, and inadequacies of the police that allow Katya's rapists to walk away untouched. Why, for that matter, Anna Sinyakina is duly charming as the hapless young woman. Fyodorovich's acts of vengeance are definitely gratifying, too. And though the telling of this story doesn't wholly light up the imagination like other versions have in the past, it's executed well, with perhaps a more balanced approach than what we often see elsewhere.

There are no particular criticisms that come to mind in this instance. But I guess the chief drawback - emphasized by how little I have to say, in a rare instance - is just that there also isn't any element here that's especially grabbing. For as well as it's made, 'The rifleman of the Voroshilov regiment' just doesn't feel remarkable; nothing strikes me as a reason to specifically recommend it, or seek it out. If you happen to come across it, then minding a content warning for sexual assault, it's a fine way to spend 95 minutes. Just don't expect a cinematic epiphany.

In answer of the previous comment I'd like to say that the movie doesn't want to be exciting with mysteries like some thriller-kind films.The idea is to make you feel like the main character (the shooter obviously) and to pick a side in the conflict-would you sit and watch like the tabla-players or you are gonna take the justice in your own hands and give retribution and a bit vengeance of course.My point is that the movie (my opinion) wants not to be interesting with some scenes of complicated events,but with the emotional side of what's happen.Because to start a war against the chief of the Russian Police Department is kinda risky and dangerous,but in this situation the old sharpshooter doesn't have any other choice. The defending of the family's honor needs extreme actions,actions who none wouldn't even think to do against such overwhelming mass of corrupted police mans.But it's true thats the situation in many countries that had left the Soviet Union (1989-1991 hope I'm not wrong for the period of the breaking down) .In the end i'm gonna finish with something in my style--> If someone close to you gets hurt,would you sit and watch or you're gonna act like a man(just phrase woman can do the same brave thing :) )