Volga, Volga

It is said that this was Stalin's favorite film, which is quite possible - Stalin always chose his actions in a way that would elevate his image in the eyes of the USSR citizens, as well as serve the interests of the state, at least in his opinion... The case of the play "The Days of the Turbins" by Bulgakov is famous, which Stalin personally watched more than ten times, and yet Bulgakov was persecuted on his personal initiative. Bulgakov was able to work relatively freely in the 1920s, but not in the 1930s, during the birth of Stalin's regime, simply because Bulgakov's work was not in line with it, and therefore not in line with the interests of the state. Volga-Volga is already in the spirit of the regime, and therefore Stalin could only love something that reflected his spirit. In addition, the story of a foolish arrogant bureaucrat, who is more of a burden to the people rather than helping them (let alone serving them), was an ideal object from which Stalin could distance himself, of course, at a time when the bureaucratic-authoritarian regime he co-created reached one of its "peaks"... (09/06/2014)

The plot is perhaps quite simple and the characters at times act in a way that is slightly annoying in how childish it is, but on the other hand, this is primarily a musical, and as such, it works. There are some entertaining numbers, but above all there is good music that is memorable and pushes the entire film to a higher level. (10/03/2017)