Themes: Teachers and Students, Death of a Partner, Women During Wartime
Main Cast: Vera Maretskaya, Daniil Sagal, Vladimir Belokurov, Vladimir Maruta, Rostislav Plyatt
Release Year: 1947
Country: SU
Run Time: 97 minutes
Plot
Village Teacher was the first postwar production by Soviet director Mark Donskoy, of "Gorky Trilogy" fame. Vera Maretskaya stars as Varenka, a starry-eyed young Moscow teacher who accepts a post in a forsaken Siberian village. The story follows Varenka's career from the pre-revolutionary Czarist regime to the end of WWII. It is a period of great unrest in the world and shattering personal heartbreak for Varenka, who loses her husband in the war. She can take some comfort in knowing at fadeout time that she has profoundly affected the lives of all her students. Something of a distaff Goodbye Mr. Chips, The Village Teacher manages to wedge in a bit of political propaganda without disturbing the flow of the story or lessening its entertainment value. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
