U samogo sinego morya

Ever since Vladimir Lenin and his cronies took over Russia in 1917, the country's film industry primarily concentrated on message movies that touted the communist form of government. Even though Russian filmmakers were masters of editing in the 1920s, most of their product was serious. Boris Barnet didn't fit into that mode. Somehow Stalin and his lieutenants allowed the Moscovite to make breezy, ofttimes funny movies, even though the dictator was generally displeased with Barnet's work. One prime example of his work is his March 1936 "By the Bluest of Seas," a musical rom-com Soviet style.

Barnet's second feature film shows the director's adept handling of merging the symbolic elements of nature with the human drama unfolding on the screen. 'By the Bluest of Seas" follows a pair of friends whose ship has sunk. The two are rescued by fishermen and taken to an island off the coast of Azerbaijan in the Caspian Sea. Blond-haired Yussuf (Lev Sverdin) and Alyoshia (Nikolai Kryuchkov) meet Mariya (Yelena Kuzmina), head of the local collective. Both seamen are infatuated by her, and each attempt to gain her interest. Film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum says Barnet's film is so brilliant because "We wind up feeling affection for the three leads, partly because of the affection they show for one another and partly because of the gusto with which they show it."

French film critic Bernard Eisenschitz unlocks the secret of Barnet's genius, one of the lesser known talented directors in Soviet cinema. "His films convey more than most the intensity of happiness, the physical pleasure of meeting and contact, the inevitable tragedy of relationships," Eisenschitz writes. Mariya, who's intrigued by the pair of energetic friends, is withholding information from the two that'll make all the difference in the world in their relationship.

Astute observers note "By the Bluest of Seas" contains a number of silent movie elements, with long, quiet sequences and inter-titles long since gone from cinema. Critic Anthony Nield drew parallels between Barnet and Jean Vigo's 1934 masterpiece "L'Atalante," while Australia's National Film and Sound Archive wrote Barnet's intention "was to carry the pleasures of silent cinema into the sound age. Barnet is always trying to return his cinema to a pure match between expressive image and a musical soundscape accompaniment, always emphasizing charming gesture, comic speed and music over spoken dialogue."

The power-elite of the Soviet government ripped into "By the Bluest of Seas," claiming the film failed to reflect the realities of the country's proletariat. That explains why the movie was so hard to view until 2012, when it became available to home media by a Russian company. Besides the rare screening, few got the opportunity to see it. Those that did placed it as one of 1,000 films making the prestigious list in 'TSPDY: They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?'

There isn't a great deal to the Russian 'classic' "By the Bluest of Seas" other than its remarkable use its location around the Caspian Sea and yet its reputation among cineastes is extremely high. Unlike the propaganda films of Eisenstein and Dovzhendo, this is a simple love story and a tale of friendship that owes more to Hollywood than to early Russian cinema.

Two sailors are washed up on an island where they both fall for the same girl, thus testing their friendship. It's a very simple-minded picture, luminously photographed by Mikhail Kirillov, charming enough in itself but hardly worth the critical plaudits that have been heaped on it.

Compared to the works of Eisenstein and Alexander Dovzhenko, this film will probably seem quite unremarkable to many viewers - if you've watched enough early Hollywood romantic comedies, the characters will be familiar and the plot predictable. Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable enough watch set against the beautiful Caspian Sea, with gorgeous cinematography and sound. Recommended for hardcore film buffs but not for the average viewer, who would be better served watching more well-known Russian classics or early Hollywood screwball comedies.

It's difficult for me to judge Rivette's statement about Boris Barnet having been the greatest of Soviet filmmakers after Eisenstein ; I definitely prefer his works to Eisenstein's or let's say Pudovkin's.

"U samogo sinyego morya" ("By the Bluest of Seas"), a cheerful poetic miniature capturing skirmishes between love and friendship, abounds in crystal clear simplicity and heartfelt humour. In addition to these, we get more than a couple of credible faces (the one of Yelena Kuzmina in particular), a lot of nice songs, and last but not least the most impressive shots of breakers which I have ever encountered on screen.

Some reviewers didn't see any Soviet propaganda in the movie. I must disagree : the scenery upon which the personal storyline unfolds evidently promotes period collectivism,a.o. No wonder, then. However, art in Barnet's rendering transcends everything else.

The transfer on Mr.Bongo's recent release seems quite good ; regrettably no extras were taken from the original Ruscico version.

You know, I love watching early cinema. Those German Expressionist silents are still fantastic for the modern viewer to watch and the 1930s was a decade chock-full of excellence. Sadly, BY THE BLUEST OF SEAS is a rather dull affair, one of those art-house movies that's raved over by the critics but actually turns out to be pretty dull and insubstantial when it comes down to it.

The story is nothing more than a simple love triangle between a couple of fishermen and the girl they both fall in love with. The acting is so minimalist as to be non-existent and the story that plays out is simplistic so that there's barely enough material for the short running time. What the film does benefit from is some very nice cinematography that makes the best of the locations (this was filmed in Azerbaijan on the shores of the Caspian Sea) but of course given the title colour is necessary to make this a truly great-looking production. BY THE BLUEST OF SEAS is nothing special, I'm afraid.