Le village du péché

What a pleasant surprise. I wasn't expecting much from a "lesser" Soviet film of the 1920s when "Women of Ryazan" proved to be a little treat. Don't get me wrong : Eisenstein, Pudovkin, Barnet, Vertov, etc. were certainly more important filmmakers than Olga Preobrazhenskaya. However, this film has many of the qualities of the first Soviet "heavyweight" films without being precisely heavy. The fact that the film is almost free of any type of Communist propaganda certainly helps. If there is a message here, it is not a political but a feminist one. But even this message is subtle.

The first interest of the film is its depiction of a rural community just before and after WWI (yes, the time of the Russian Revolution). However, unlike other Soviet films, "Women of Ryazan", while being lyrical and beautifully photographed, has a real plot and never leaves it aside. The plot is mostly about the fate of two women (blond Anna and dark-haired Wassilissa), the first being a dutiful (if not submissive) doomed soldier's wife, the latter, more lively and energetic, who will openly defy the old way of life.

Preobrazhenskaya was obviously not afraid to deal with bold subjects (cohabitation, the right to choose one's spouse, rape) but never pushes them down into the viewer's throat. Also, good acting from (I suppose) non-professional actors. An interesting curio, for those who have already seen most of the prominent works of the Soviet-era cinema.

PS : The version I saw was longer than the running time mentioned on the presentation page (almost 90 minutes).

The Peasant Women of Ryazan (1927)

*** (out of 4)

This Russian film from Olga Preobrazhenskaya takes place right before WWI as well as its aftermath. The story centers on a young orphan girl named Anna who lives with her relatives. The story focuses on her being forced into a marriage against her will while she is in love with another man. Pretty soon a group of events lead to devastation for this small town.

Also known as BABY RYAZANSKIE and various other titles, this film isn't as well-known as the major works from a variety of Russian filmmakers of this era but it's certainly an interesting and very well-made picture. The one thing that does separate this from various other Russian films of this period is the fact that there's no propaganda or anything like that. This is certainly an early feminist movie but the film stays away from politics and simply looks at arranged marriages of social pressure.

The look of the film is quite excellent as you get some terrific editing that is among the best that I've seen from this era. The film itself can't rank up against the likes of Eisenstein or Pudovkin but at the same time it is right on mark when compared to what was coming into American cinemas at the time. The film features some excellent performances that really push the story along including Raisa Puzhnaya as Anna and Georgi Bobynin as Ivan.

The look of the film is quite excellent and especially the cinematography, which is one of the highlights. If I had to say anything negative about the film its that the story really isn't all that challenging but then again there is a simple nature to the picture. Preobrazhenskaya's direction shows that she was a major talent and that she could deliver such a fine film.

Orphan Anna lives with her aunt Aliona in the Russian district of Ryazan. One day, both women meet Wassily, a rich farmer, and his son Ivan; both youngsters fall in love at once, but Wassily is also very taken with Anna. Wassily has a daughter, Wassilissa who loves Nicolas, a poor smith, a relationship that Wassily doesn't like at all. In order to marry off his son, Wassily organizes a meeting with all the town's single frauleins and out of the blue, destiny will reunite Anna and Ivan again and they finally will be married. However, the peaceful life of the town will be broken with the beginning of the First World War, a war that Ivan must join, leaving his wife alone with his father…

"Baby Ryazanskie" ( Women Of Ryazan ) (1927) is a very remarkable and exceptional silent film directed by Dame Olga Preobrazhenskaya, a Russian woman filmmaker with a short but intense career and who was considered a feminist pioneer in the Russian film industry. This film was shot in the district of Ryazan and exceptionally photographed by Herr Konstantin Kuznetsov, and abounds with lyrical and beautiful images which high light the drama that Anna, the main character, must undergo. The film might have been a simple country story, one of those folk oeuvres beautifully filmed that takes pleasure in the landscape but neglects the story telling. Happily that is not the case of "Baby Ryazanskie" because although the Ryazan district and the way of life of their peasants are important subjects in the film, Dame Preobrazhenskaya tells a universal story with those local elements. Troubled family relationships and a stormy conflict of sentiments leading to tragic ending are conditions that know no boundaries because human nature is unpredictable, even in Russia.

Another outstanding and interesting fact about "Baby Ryazanskie" is that the film is free of propaganda and without a trace of a communist message. Those same Ryazan peasants in the Politburo hands or with a lesser director would be tempting indeed to use for those purposes. Dame Preobrazhenskaya freely filmed her story without political hints or impositions that might have spoiled the quality or the artistic interest of the auteur in depicting a classical melodrama of conflicting human sentiments set in rural Russia.

And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must have a meeting with his women of Deutschland.

Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com/