Main Cast: Vladimir Ivashov, Zhanna Prokhorenko, Antonina Maksimova, Nikolai Kryuchkov, Yevgeny Urbansky
Release Year: 1960
Country: SU
Run Time: 88 minutes
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, All Movie Guide
Review
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, All Movie Guide
Valentina Telegina; Ella Lezhdey; Lev Borisov; Marina Kremneva; Anatoly Kuznetsov - Soldier Gavrilkin; Yevgeni Yevstigneyev; Vladimir Kashpur; V. Markova; Georgy Yumatov; G. Yukhtin; E. Teterin
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 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.
The film tells the story of the young soldier Alexei Nikolaevich Skvortsov (Vladimir Ivashov) making his way through the countryside. Awarded a six-day leave pass for destroying two German tanks, Alyosha makes his way home to visit his mother and to repair the roof of her home. During his journey he encounters the devastation the war has brought on the country and meets numerous people and gives them hope by virtue of his likeable and positive character. Riding in a freight car of an army supply train he meets Shura (Zhanna Prokhorenko) and falls in love with her. As he had spent precious time on running errands for his fellow soldiers from the front, he arrives at his home only to see his mother for a few minutes before having to leave to make his way back to his unit before his 6-day pass expires. He finds his way back to the front but, as told via voiceover, never returns from the war.
The two lead actors Vladimir Ivashov and Zhanna Prokhorenko were both only nineteen years old and had not much acting experience at the time of the casting. Grigori Chukhrai's said about 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]
Distribution and responses
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, with the New York Times offering it iconic status.[3]
The Forty-First (1956) ·Ballad of a Soldier (1959) ·Clear Skies (1961) ·There Was an Old Couple (1965) ·People! (1966) ·Memory (1971) ·Untypical Story (1978) ·Life Is Beautiful (1979) ·I'll Teach You to Dream (1984)
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