Zvezda plenitelnogo schastya

First, note that this 1975 drama is now available on DVD in Region 1. I was fortunate to find it at our public library.

The plot summary here does an excellent job of describing the story. Briefly, the story centers on the mutiny by a number of Russian army officers who tried-unsuccessfully- to overthrown the tyrannical and absolutist Tsarist regime in Russia in 1825. Called the Decembrists, these men were highly influenced by the 18th century European Enlightenment and specially by the rise of ideas of constitutional government in other American and European states.

They failed miserably to change the Russian government. All were captured. Indeed, the threat they posed confirmed the new Tsar, Nicholas I, in his reactionary attitude. He and his regime spent the next 30 years eradicating any semblance of reform in his regime.

Interestingly, this film was made under the auspices of the Soviet government in the mid-1970s.{ That same regime also allowed the making of the best version of Tolstoy's "War and Peace" a few years earlier.} The Soviet government seem to have identified the Decembrists as precursors to their own successful revolution nearly a century later in 1917-1918, even those those precursors were aristocrats.

The movie is really divided into two parts. First, it recounts the unsuccessful uprising and its immediate after-effects, and then tells of the exile to the far reaches of Siberia for those mutineers who were not hanged. At this point the story shifts to emphasize the wives of these officers who followed their husbands into distant exile.

This is an excellent film for those interested in Russian history. And it combines the historical significance of the revolt with the effects on the private lives of these officers and their families.

This movie spans a few years around year 1825 when a group of Russian officers prepared, failed and were prosecuted for a coup to establish a constitutional monarchy in Russia. Historical realities however are the least of concerns for the director who concentrated instead of timeless issues of love, betrayal, and honor. Well acted and fast paced movie with a star cast sporting names like Smoktunovsky, Batalov, Kostolevsky etc. Highly recommended.