Historical drama. The painting by the famous Soviet directors Vasiliev brothers, who are known to the vast majority of all citizens of the former USSR for staging such a national hit as Chapaev in 1934 (which only the lazy did not watch many times), and so, in 1938, they created this picture, covering the events of the Russian Civil war in the Far East in 1918-1922. And how did such a movie pass by? So it was necessary to fix it immediately. And the viewing left very good impressions. And here's a brief opinion - An excellent film adaptation of the Russian Civil War in the Far East. In addition to the pluses in the picture (and there is nowhere without them), there was one minus (but this is curious), so we need to finish such an important introduction and proceed to the analysis.
So, the pros:
1. The scenario - the picture covers the time period from 1918 to 1922. In 1918, Japanese troops landed in the Far East with the intention of tearing off a piece of territory from Russia (while a civil war is raging inside our country between the Reds (the people) and the whites (who hate their own people)), although "protection of Japanese citizens from oppression" is officially proclaimed (for which the Japanese, with the help of loyal white sycophants, organize a provocation). The local population, dissatisfied with the invaders, begins to organize red partisan detachments to repel the brazen invaders and their Russian allies. One such unit will be discussed in the film. Together with the squad, we will walk a glorious military path from the remote taiga to Vladivostok itself. We will stop the Japanese offensive towards Lake Baikal and drive them back to Vladivostok. We will see the famous Volochaevsky battle of 1922 and other operations of the Red partisans. They will also show us the local population, which helps the partisans in every possible way and delays the interventionists as much as possible. The final, though victorious, is formidable, because the Japanese intend to return here. And considering the time at which the picture was shot, that time has come for them. Hassan, Khalkhin-Gol. Actually, the picture was so timely. And the creators have a good sense of humor, you can laugh heartily.
2. Vivid images - the Japanese colonel (played by Lev Sverdlin), the sailor Bublik (played by Boris Blinov), the commander of the detachment Andrey (played by Nikolai Dorokhin), the cunning peasant (played by Boris Chirkov) and many others. They all played their roles perfectly and gave us vivid images. Yes, all of ours are very exalted, yes, the Japanese are shown as enemies (and isn't that true?), the Whites are shown as sycophants (isn't that also true?). Even the Japanese soldier who defected to our side is also interesting. You look and admire.
3. The battle of Volochaevsky - and although it does not take much time, nevertheless, the creators of the picture managed to make it quite spectacular and dynamic. You're worried about our (Reds, of course). For the primitive technologies of that time period, this was done perfectly. Yes, it would be possible to gather more extras, but it's pretty good as it is.
4. There is an ideological component here, and it is very patriotic, while it fits in with the international idea of the Bolsheviks. The Japanese are shown as brazen interventionists (but at the same time, their special atrocities are not shown, only putting on camera and shooting one partisan, whereas in reality they did things that would make your hair stand up in the most immodest places). The creators could have given time to the White Guards, who kept up with their Japanese masters (and sometimes surpassed them, remember Ataman Semenov and his atrocities). All the Russian people here believe in the victory of the Red Army - and the victory happened.
Now let's talk about the downside. The fact is that in the picture the Reds are fighting in the Battle of Volochaevsky exclusively with Japanese troops, whereas they were fighting with the unfinished White Guards, and the Japanese were no longer at the front, because in the fall of 1922 there was a small garrison only in Vladivostok, deep in the rear of the Whites.
In 1967, the painting was subjected to monstrous abuse, and the censors cut out six minutes from its timekeeping. Fortunately, you can now find the original version from 1938 and watch it. And it doesn't hurt to improve the sound (and the picture is already good, and it doesn't need restoration). It's too bad that such patriotic films are not being shown now, and we have to look for it in a roundabout way.
Our rating is 9 out of 10 and recommended for viewing!
