Ballad of a Soldier
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Ballad of a Soldier
Plot
The award-winning Ballad of a Soldier was the first Russian film to score an American success during the Cold War era. It is a relatively simple, uncomplicated story of a callow young Russian conscript (Vladimir Ivashov) who yearns for home and hearth during World War II. Unfortunately, only those who have committed a conspicuously heroic act are being honored with liberty. Almost in spite of himself, the boy becomes a battlefield hero, and as a result is allowed to visit his family. En route to his home, the boy uses up much of his valuable leave time through his efforts to help others. He finally gets to see his mother for a few precious moments before being called back to active duty. At the risk of sounding snobbish, we advise that you see Ballad of a Soldier in a subtitled print. The English-dubbed version borders on the ridiculous, with everyone talking in stilted sentences that sound like Soviet Damon Runyon. ~ Hal Erickson, RoviReview
Made in the post-Stalin thaw in Soviet filmmaking, Ballade o Soldate is refreshingly apolitical, choosing to ascribe the humanitarian impulses of its characters to their nature rather than to an adherence to state ideals. Alyosha (Vladimir Ivashov) is a scared soldier of 19 who, as much out of self-preservation as anything, manages to disable two German tanks. The film's first extended scene of dialogue sets the pattern for a portrayal of the military for the rest of the drama; Alyosha is teased by hardened officers but treated kindly by top brass. Giving one soldier a six-day pass in the middle of the war seems an extraordinary kindness, but the film resolutely insists on the basic goodness of nearly all its characters. On his journey homeward, Alyosha initiates acts of charity and is treated generously by nearly everyone he meets. His only nemesis, a bully of a guard on a freight train, winds up getting his comeuppance from-you guessed it-a lieutenant. The scenes between Alyosha and his female traveling companion Shura (Zhanna Prokhorenko) are packed with yearning but again reflect the soldier's basic honesty, since he's led to believe that she's on her way to visit her fiancé. This is one of the least horrific war films ever made, which isn't to say that it glorifies combat or ignores suffering. It also contains one of the saddest expressions of motherly love ever spoken, when Alyosha's mother bids him farewell by crying out, "I didn't wait for your father, but I'll wait for you." Director Grigori Chukhrai, after some virtuoso camerawork in the man vs. tank sequence, settles down for some lovely compositions, with deep focus shots framed by a glorious Russian sky. ~ Tom Wiener, RoviCast
- Vladimir Ivashov - Alyosha
- Zhanna Prokhorenko - Shura
- Antonina Maksimova - Alyosha's mother
- Nikolai Kryuchkov - General
- Yevgeny Urbansky - Invalid
Credit
Grigori Chukhrai - Director, Michael Siv - Composer (Music Score), Vladimir Nikolayev - Cinematographer, V. Rylach - Cinematographer, Era Savelyeva - Cinematographer, Grigori Chukhrai - Screenwriter, Valentin Yezhov - Screenwriter| Ballad of a Gunfighter (1964 Film), Ballad of a Bounty Hunter (1970 Film) | |
| Ballad of an Unsung Hero (1983 Film), Ballad ofr Tara (1980 Film) |
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Ballad of a Soldier
| Ballad of a Soldier | |
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| Directed by | Grigori Chukhrai |
| Produced by | M. Chernova |
| Written by | Valentin Yezhov Grigori Chukhrai |
| Starring | Vladimir Ivashov Zhanna Prokhorenko |
| Music by | Mikhail Ziv |
| Cinematography | Vladimir Nikolayev Era Savelyeva |
| Editing by | Mariya Timofeyeva |
| Studio | Mosfilm |
| Release date(s) | December 1, 1959 |
| Running time | 88 minutes |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Language | Russian |
Ballad of a Soldier (Russian: Баллада о солдате, Ballada o soldate), is a 1959 Soviet film directed by Grigori Chukhrai and starring Vladimir Ivashov and Zhanna Prokhorenko. While set during World War II, Ballad of a Soldier is not primarily a war film. It recounts, within the context of the turmoil of war, various kinds of love: the romantic love of a young couple, the committed love of a married couple, and a mother's love of her child, as a Red Army soldier tries to make it home during a leave, meeting several civilians on his way and falling in love. The film was produced at Mosfilm and won several awards, including the BAFTA Award for Best Film from any Source and was nominated for the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay.
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Contents
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Plot
A middle-aged farm woman walks through her village and gazes down a country road. A voiceover reveals that her son was killed in the war and buried in a foreign land.
On the Eastern Front, nineteen-year-old soldier Alexei Nikolaevich Skvortsov (Vladimir Ivashov) single handedly destroys two attacking German tanks, more out of self-preservation than bravery. His commanding general wants to give him a decoration, but Alyosha asks instead for a leave to see his mother and to repair the leaking roof of their home. He is given six days.
During his journey, he sees the devastation the war has wrought on the country and meets various people. When the jeep Alyosha is riding gets stuck in the mud, Private Pavlov helps push it out. As Alyosha will be passing through his home city, Pavlov persuades him to take a present to Pavlov's wife. Pavlov's sergeant reluctantly parts with two bars of soap, the entire supply for their platoon.
At the train station, Alyosha helpfully carries the suitcase of Vasya, a soldier discharged because he has lost a leg. Vasya does not want to go home, as he would be a burden to his wife, and their relationship had already been troubled. However, he changes his mind and is welcomed with open arms by the loving woman.
When he attempts to board a freight car of an army supply train, Alyosha is stopped by Gavrilkin, a sentry. However, a bribe of a can of beef eases Gavrilkin's fear of his lieutenant, a "beast". Shura (Zhanna Prokhorenko) later sneaks aboard as well, but when she sees him, she becomes frightened and tries to jump off the speeding train. Alyosha stops her from risking her life. She tells him she is going to see her fiancé, a pilot who is recuperating in a hospital. As the days pass, she loses her fear and mistrust of him. Gavrilkin spots the civilian stowaway, forcing Alyosha to bribe him anew. When the lieutenant discovers the unauthorized passengers, he lets them remain aboard and even makes Gavrilkin return the bribe.
At one stop, Alyosha gets out to fetch some water, but the train leaves without him. Frantic, he gets a lift to the next station from an old woman truck driver. He is too late; the train has already departed. However, Shura got off and is waiting for him. The couple then go to see Pavlov's wife. They discover that she is living with another man and leave. Alyosha returns, takes back the soap he had given her, and gives it instead to Pavlov's invalid father.
When they finally part, Shura confesses she lied; there was no fiancé, only an aunt. Alyosha realizes too late, after his train departs, that when Shura said she had no one, she was telling him that she loves him. His train is stopped by a blown-up bridge and set on fire by German artillery. With time running out, Alyosha rafts across the river and persuades another truck driver to give him a ride to his rural village, Sosnovka. He gets to see his mother (and his neighbor Zoya, who he had told Shura was a little in love with him) only for a few minutes before having to make his way back to his unit. His mother vows to wait for him. The voiceover tells us that while he could have gone far in life if he had lived, he will always be remembered simply as a Russian soldier.
Cast
- Vladimir Ivashov as Private Alyosha Skvortsov
- Zhanna Prokhorenko as Shura
- Antonina Maksimova as the mother
- Nikolai Kryuchkov as the general
- Yevgeni Urbansky as Vasya
- Elza Lezhdey as Vasya's wife
- Aleksandr Kuznetsov as Gavrilkin
- Yevgeni Teterin as The lieutenant
- V. Markova as Liza (Pavlov's wife)
- Marina Kremnyova as Zoya (neighbor girl)
- Vladimir Pokrovsky as Pavlov's invalid father
- Georgi Yumatov as Sergeant giving bars of soap
- Gennadi Yukhtin as Private Seryozha Pavlov
- Valentina Telegina as Old woman truck driver
- Lev Borisov as Joking soldier on train
The two lead actors, Ivashov and Prokhorenko, were both only nineteen years old and did not have much acting experience. Grigori Chukhrai commented of his casting choice:
We took a big risk. It was risky to give the main roles to quite inexperienced actors. Not many would have done so in those times, but we ventured and did not regret afterwards. Volodya and Zhanna gave the most precious colouring to the film, that is, the spontaneity and charm of youth.[1]
Both would go on to long careers in cinema.
Production
According to Robert Osborne, the primary host of Turner Classic Movies, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev was a fan of the director, so Chukrai was given more leeway than normal.
Reception
Ballad of a Soldier was released on December 1, 1959 in the Soviet Union and sold 30.1 million tickets.[2]
The film received considerable praise for both its technical craft and its strong, yet subtle story. Viewed from the earnestness and unabashed youthfulness of the protagonist, the film was hailed as an instant classic by Soviet and American critics. The New York Times reviewer Bosley Crowther applauded Chukrai's success in making the film "flow in such a swift, poetic way that the tragedy of it is concealed by a gentle lyric quality."[3] He also noted the "two splendid performances" by Ivashov and Prokhorenko.
The film received the Lenin State Prize in 1961, and so did its director and producer.
Awards
- 1960 Cannes Film Festival - Special jury prize[4]
- Bucharest Film Festival, 1960 - Golden Wolf for Best Film
- 5th San Francisco International Film Festival, 1960 - Golden Gate Award for Best Film and Golden Gate Award for Best Director
- BAFTA Award for Best Film from any Source, 1961
- Bodil Awards for Best European Film, 1961
- Nominated for Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay, 1961 - Grigori Chukhrai, Valentin Yezhov
References
- ^ Ivanova, Vera (April 27, 2006). "Ballad of a Film-Director: Grigorii Chukhrai". Russia-IC.com. http://www.russia-ic.com/culture_art/theatre/172/. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
- ^ Zemlianukhin, Sergei; Miroslava Segida (1996) (in Russian). Domashniaia sinemateka 1918–1996 (Домашняя Синематека 1918–1996). Moscow: Duble-D. p. 420. ISBN 5-900902-05-6.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley (December 27, 1960). "Movie Review: Ballad of a Soldier". New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?_r=1&res=9F0DEEDD1531EF3ABC4F51DFB467838B679EDE&oref=slogin. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: Ballad of a Soldier". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/3342/year/1960.html. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
External links
- Ballad of a Soldier at AllRovi
- Ballad of a Soldier at the Internet Movie Database
- Criterion Collection essay by Vida Johnson
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