Revolution: New Art for a New World

I caught a screening of this film put on by the Denver Film Society and what a gem it is. The two other people in my party and I showed up to the theater just a couple of minutes before it was scheduled to start and we almost didn't get a seat - the theater was that full. This film does a great job of explaining the hope and idealism that was present in the arts community in post-revolutionary Russia and follows it through to the compromise and disillusionment leading into Soviet Realism under Stalin. The writer/director has done a great job tracking down the descendants of the great Avante-Garde artists who tell the fascinating stories of their talented relatives. She also tracks down hidden masterpieces in the vaults of Russian museums that haven't been seen in decades. You will most certainly want to see this film if you are interested in post-revolutionary Russia, Avante- Garde art or art curating. A screen crawl at the end divulges what happened to the various artists mentioned in the film. The lucky ones emigrated. The less fortunate literally died for their art by being tortured to death or were put in front of a firing squad. Others spent decades in the Soviet gulag. Very dramatic stuff!

This movie takes us through the Russian history of soviet period and tells us a story about living and working of the most noted artists of this time. The director shows an intrinsic parallel between painting and ideology implying that revolution is the change of the way of thinking which affects both social and art realms. The only flaw to mention is that movie contains many interviews with Russian individuals who can barely speak the language.