Myortvyy sezon

One major success in a career - is that a lot for a director or not? Enough! Savva Kulish's Dead Season is a spy thriller in form but an artistic exploration of human nature: its cynicism and responsibility, its cruelty and sacrifice. I always find myself absorbed in the film's hermetic, oppressive, hopeless, and tragic atmosphere (if one can call that enjoyment), its rhythm, music, and, of course, the acting. A highly stylish movie.

I would like to highlight the following. The pro-Soviet propaganda in this film is dangerous only for uncritical viewers. I lived in the USSR for 34 years before its collapse and remember this inhuman country all too well. The issue with this film is that, as a work of cinematic art, it is nearly perfect, but on a factual level, it is false. In reality, it was the USSR that produced the largest quantities of chemical warfare agents-40,000 tons of them were discovered after its collapse! (And that's only what the Russian authorities have officially acknowledged.) Russia inherited this from the USSR, refined it, and continues to poison anyone it perceives as a threat: the names of Litvinenko, the Skripals, and Navalny are well known, while dozens of others have remained anonymous victims. In fact, all leftist regimes and ideologies have always used the rhetoric of peace as a cover for their misanthropic goals.

And yet, I repeat: the film is excellent. Because the director, Savva Kulish, managed to turn a propagandistic genre film into a reflection on human nature-and the future of humankind. Like any truly great film, Dead Season transcends its genre. In this regard, the conversation between the Soviet intelligence officer Ladeynikov (Donatas Banionis) and the local priest (Leonhard Merzin) is particularly significant-a dialogue about the conflict between professional duty and moral responsibility, about how truth is concrete, and how sometimes these two forces contradict each other. In these moments, the political thriller rises to a philosophical level without losing its cinematic brilliance. A truly remarkable and timeless film!