Уездный город Е
Provinční městečko E
Plots(1)
Nothing interesting happens in the small town of Yelnya on Russia’s western edge. The locals are leaving en masse and those who stay have few joys in life. One is the victory over fascism. At the start of the war Stalin allowed the town be symbolically freed – at the cost of enormous loss of life – so as to inspire hope in his people and strengthen the spirit of heroism. Emerging documentarist Dmitry Bogolubov’s personally tinged film tracks two local patriots and their families for three years. Teen-age Masha attends nationalist meetings, singing the praises of long-dead fallen heroes, ageing Sergei digs up their bones and secretly dreams of a change in the situation. Through them the film shows how the unhealed wartime trauma infiltrates generations, forming the social life of ordinary Russians and, with the help of political propaganda, gradually changes into hate towards the current “fascist” West. (One World)
(more)Reviews (2)
In the 1990s, Boris Yeltsin carried out reforms in the post-Soviet space, which - in hindsight - did not lead Russia toward catching up with the developed and wealthy West, but rather toward the corrupt periphery of Latin America. The country with such a long militaristic tradition had such a malnourished army that it could not be taken seriously. In the first Russo-Chechen War, a fully armed Russian division besieged a village defended by several dozen Chechen rebels for several days, in vain. With Putin's arrival, many things changed, and, as of 2013 at the latest, one can speak of intensive preparation for future wars, including not only modernization, weapon purchases, and large-scale maneuvers but also comprehensive societal preparation for war. This cannot be overlooked or dismissed in any way, just like the fact that we do not share common interests with Russia and the Russian government has decided to politically and militarily separate itself from the European Union. My relationship with Russia is ambivalent. I am thus cautious about Russia and the state of its society. I understand what Bogolyubov wants to express with his documentary, but I find it cinematographically cumbersome and uninteresting. For most of its duration, I was basically bored. Overall impression: 45%.
()
Crooked projections, homemade uniforms, hurrah posters in hellish graphics, moronic choreography, pathetic tastelessness, tight lips and heavy eyelids. All this in the grey shacks of crumbling cities that someone last invested in sometime during the last quinquennium. In short, the Russian lunapark, just as we like it. That's why I'm also irritated by the author's need for redundant commentary and creating instructional situations in an environment where but a glance tells what a marasmus we're in here and that from the perspective of the persons involved, there really is no better way out of the current political situation in Mother Russia than Putin's policy of pan-Slavic superiority constantly fueled by celebratory rituals of World War II (sporadic) successes. The famous comic figure Masha here, who at fourteen has an eight-kilo bundle of diplomas, certificates, and attestations from various competitions and parades, could have carried the entire subject by herself, whereas she merely fills space for a boisterous patriotic insert of a boisterous village festival in which drunken men achieve actualization through the deaths of their ancestors and acquaintances. And by the way, it's filmed in incredibly giant resolution, and the filmmakers clearly struggle with the quality of the image, because its perfection pretty much strips it of any aesthetic or distinctiveness, ergo it looks pretty ugly. PS: When Masha is singing at one of the celebrations on stage, they are projecting behind her what is definitely the best war film in the world according to the few shots. I'd definitely welcome any tips on what that film might be.
()