Peregon

One of the best movies I have seen in a long time. Do not watch it if you are just looking to be thrilled or entertained. It is one of those rare movies that helps us understand better our inner selves, shows us that our humanity, kindness and inner light could be preserved in the harshest of circumstances, can reach across boundaries. Mood and tempo changes on the screen effortlessly and fluidly like in real life. All actors play their roles so convincingly that you forget it is a movie. This movie is made for quiet watching without interruptions and interferences. It truly got my brain cells working. Great attention to historical details in costumes, sets, beauty in every screen shot (movies director is an artist). Additional praise should be given to portraying of Americans – unusually convincing for a Russian movie. Fabulous work by a cameraman, some shots would make fabulous still photography worthy to be hung in an art gallery. One of the rare movies one might want to own to watch over and over again.

More dispersed than the life and death story of Rogozhkin's "The Cuckoo," "Peregon" ("Transit") still has the same patience with practical procedures. There is a very plausible reconstruction of a World War II Siberian airbase, done presumably on a much lower budget than the sets of Spielberg's "Empire or the Sun" and with less bedazzlement, but with a better sense of individuals, social dynamics, relation to the civilian population, and political complexity. The airplanes here have mechanics and pilots. Like an Altman movie, "Peregon" follows many complex individuals, but it also gives a sense of the overriding Soviet culture during the war years. It succeeds in representing people working within history.

Rogozhkin is famous as a comedy maker. So when I saw the movie first time I was waiting for a comedy. But it was not a comedy (it had some funny moments but their amount is not enough to let to call it a comedy) so I was disappointed. But then I thought about my impressions and I understood that the movie had a lot of charm.

During WWII the USA sent planes to the USSR. Some of the planes flew to the USSR on their own. A net of intermediate airfields was organized in undeveloped areas of the USSR from Chukotka, the territory that was closest to Alyaska, to the Urals. Some pilots used to drive the planes from their airfield to the next one, then they used to return on their airfield and were waiting for a new party of planes from the previous airfield.

The movie describes the life on one of such airfields in Chukotka. That was the first airfield of the airfield net. American pilots used to drive there 'Aircobras' from Alyaska and then Soviet pilots used to drive them to the West, to the next airfield inside of the USSR.

The Soviet pilots who operated from the airfield were young guys. In the beginning of the movie the twelve young pilots were waiting for the planes and were looking how the American pilots were landing on those planes. Suddenly it turned out that all the twelve American pilots were young pretty girls. Then those guys and girls used to meet again and again in the airfield.

But the movie is not only about those pilots. The movie is about the life on the airfield. The movie has got no main hero.

Also the image of the Americans is very good in the movie. The Soviet and Americans behaved to one another as friends. The Americans were played by American actors. And the "Aircobras" are looked real. Sometimes soft American music of the 40th plays and it attaches very good atmosphere to the movie scenes. The Russian DVD I bought has got English subtitles.

So I RECOMMEND to everyone to buy this movie. It is really good movie and it stands out against a background of the stream of the mediocre modern Russian military movies that have been produced in the last years.

First of all I was all in desire to watch this film only for one actual reason - this reason has the name - Daniil Strakhov. I have never seen him in the full screen picture so that was interesting, but when I saw it I have found out that this is a very good work - in general this film makes a very good impression from the point of the view on the history of the Soviet Union.......not in general meaning but on some specific aspects - political question was revealed very well. I loved the stories - a lot of personal stories told in the film. There was no main hero and everyone was important to the plot. Couple of words about the plot of the film: the story starts in the North of Russia - near the border with Alyaska in early 1940s.....where American pilots transit planes to the Soviet pilots to combat Germans....... Everything else is to be seen by your own eyes and heard by your own ears.

Very good movie, following the outstanding acting and brilliant camera work. First of all, must say that this movie has gathered so many great actors that no great production Hollywood movie can match. Plot of the film is pretty catchy and behind it there are distinct social and political messages from the past that can reflect to now days as well. I liked this movie very much because it tends to be what film had been before and that is work of art. Even though modern in terms of composition this movie has some kind of impressionistic style, scenes longer than today movie standards suggest. We might agree that the movie could be shorter for an hour which would probably add more dynamics but then it would take most of the other beautiful things making it looks more like some Hollywood mediocre. All in all, considering the standards of this site I should give rate 10 to this film, at least. Knowing the standards however, I am not confused about so few comments on the movie and sooo low grade.