Russian Recap

The Return is a fantastic film. It has a great plot, the speed of the film is good, and the cinematography is great. There are a lot of Tarkovsky visual quotes in this film, for example, the dripping water, lakes in general, fire, mirrors, wind, and the cinematography. The film starts with a shot of the water, which is how the father eventually disappears. Many shots are shown through the point of view of Ivan. When Ivan is looking through the binoculars, the camera shakes as if we are the ones holding the binoculars. As I mentioned, the father eventually sinks into the water, but I felt that throughout this film, the father is represented by rainstorms. The rainstorms start once he arrives and the last one we hear starting is when the boys drive away from where the father sank. I feel that this is symbolic of how the father was just a burden on the family and was preventing them from being complete. The film overall is very anxiety inducing and leaves you uncomfortable in your seat, ...

Ivan's Childhood is a very interesting film. It is Tarkovsky's first full feature film, and like his others, is jam-packed with symbolism and cinematography. This movie starts in a dream. The first thing that we see is Ivan's face. He starts to run around and we see a deer and a butterfly and he begins to fly. I believe that this is symbolic of his innocence. He then lands and is lost for a moment, when he finds his mother by a well. They laugh together until we hear an explosion and his mother's face becomes afraid. I feel that beginning the whole movie with this dream is very symbolic of Ivan's innocence and how it is taken away. It is an excellent way to show us that Ivan is no longer a child. The dream then cuts to Ivan crawling through water until he is swimming through a river. Water is constantly present in this film. We next see Ivan being brought into a room because he is  caught. I think that this scene is very interesting because we do not get to see any...

The film Brother  is a very interesting film. It is definitely one of my favorites. The movie tracks the young man Danila in his journey through St. Petersburg. Danila is my favorite character in this movie. He is very strong from the beginning and he is not afraid to ask for what he wants. He is a very daring character, and I think that he is glad that he didn't see violence when he was working in the army, but he definitely does not have a problem with violence. He seems to know what he is doing right away. As soon as he starts working with his brother, he is making decisions on his own and killing people to protect himself. He is also very smart. He thinks ahead and knows what to do. He plans very well. His relationships are very important in this film. He doesn't really have a deep relationship with his mother. We only see her at the beginning of the film, where we then see her tell Danila that she wishes he were more like his brother, and then she is mentioned only a few ...

The movie Little Vera  is a very interesting film. I liked how it showcased the common life, not the extravagant and rich life, of Russia. The film is very different from the previous ones that we have seen. It shows things for what they truly are and does not romanticize them or make them seem they are better. The only places that are shown are run down and dirty but they are all made out to be normal and a home to those living there. The apartments in this film are not as fancy and well made as the ones in Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears . They are much smaller and much more lived in. The main character in this film is Vera and the story goes through a small portion of her life. Vera is a very strong person and though her life has been hard, she keeps going. Her father is an alcoholic and she still takes care of him even after he just yelled at her. She truly loves him. Her mother is gentle but she is not afraid to be bold. Her brother Viktor is a coward at times, but in the e...

I really liked this film. This film is very women-centric and all of the women in this film are very strong and have very prominent personalities. Right from the beginning we are focusing on women and about their stories. Lyuda is definitely in Moscow to pursue romance. However, she still has a very strong personality. She is bold in her words and she isn't afraid to lie. Tonya is in Moscow, it seems, to work and receive money. Tonya does start out with a boyfriend and obviously cares for him a lot. She is very gentle and caring. Katya is my favorite. She is strong and unapologetic. She is in Moscow to work and find a better life. All three of these girls are friends from the beginning and stay friends and take care of each other. I love how Tonya and Lyuda both come to take care of Katya when she is upset. I really appreciate the strong friendship between these three ladies. The men in this story have strong personalities as well. Tonya's boyfriend, Kolya, is really nice and ...

I thought that this film was very interesting.  The film portrays the role of soldiers very well. It shows, as well, how little time soldiers of this time period got to spend with their families. I think that this film has a good plot and the music really helps back up the film. I really liked the relationships between the characters in this film. Alyosha loved his mother so much that he turned down a promotion just so he could see her. He also loves helping people in need. He gets all of the people out of the train that's on fire. He goes through a lot of trouble to get home, when he easily could have given up. His perseverance is what leads the whole film. This film is very different from all of its genres. This is a war film, but it shows very little actual battle. There are only two scenes that I remember seeing that showed actual violence and warfare. This film is also a romance, but they don't end up together in the end. Overall I really enjoyed this film. I didn't ...

The Russian film Mirror , directed by Andrey Tarkovsky, is a very interesting film. It seems as if everything in the film is completely random. But as you go throughout the film, you see many patterns and similarities. This movie is about, it seems, a woman and her family. A couple things that I was confused about was the fact that there were two characters that looked the same but were not. At one point the son says that whenever he remembers his mom he imagines her because they are so much alike. I believe that is why you see two different women as the little boy's mom. You also see the younger woman look into the mirror and the older woman looks back. Another interesting thing that I noticed was that you never get to see the son's face when he grows up. You get to hear his voice and see him as a child but when he is grown up it's as if we are seeing the film from his point of view. Another interesting thing that in the movie was the ghost like people and the house that ...

The movie Burnt by the Sun, was a fantastic film. I think that it has very strong story and plot, the characters are well written and the actors played them marvelously. The director, Nikita Mikhalkov, did an excellent job directing this film, as well as acting in it. I think that this film is very symbolic of the time period. It shows the joy and equally the pain. The movie starts with a man, Mitya, who walks into an apartment and is talking to the other man who lives there. The phone starts to ring and he lets it go through. He then proceeds to take all but one bullet out of his gun and attempts to shoot himself. When he doesn't succeed, he calls someone and says "I will do it." The movie then moves to a happy family and their daily life. They are enjoying the day off and are spending time with each other. The father, Kotov, is a Colonel and gets called to call of a strike in the fields nearby. The man from the beginning of the film arrives at the house and everyone se...

The film Circus is about an american circus performer,Marion Dixon, who escapes from the U.S. because of a scandal. She has a baby with a man of color. The story leads us to the USSR where Marion escaped to with Von Kneishitz, and she is now performing in the Russian circus. She falls in love with another performer, Ivan Petrovich, and he falls in love with her. Von Kneishitz threatens Marion with revealing her scandal to the world if she does not stay with him. Another couple, Rayechka and Skamejkin, gets in the mix when Marion tries to tell Petrovich, in a letter, to meet with her before performing so that she can tell him about her child. Kneishitz gives her letter instead to Skamejkin and creates a mess, leaving both couples fitting. Eventually Marion and Rayechka, figure out what has happened and they solve the situation by switching places. Kneishitz finds out about the girls' scheme and he brings Marion's son out to the circus's  audience and reveals the scandal. In ...

This was a very interesting film. I can see why it appealed much more to the Russians as opposed to Battle Potemkin . Chapaev  has much more plot and character dynamic then Battle Potemkin . This film's story and plot have much more detail. You really get to know the characters better in this film. You are able to relate to the characters on a deeper level and it makes you connect with them. It also has romance in it. The relationships in this film are very, very strong. Anka's and Petka's relationship grows throughout the film. Towards the end of the film their romance is very strong. Audiences always really like romance especially if it is strong. Petka also has a strong relationship with Chapaev. They always sing songs together and they have a strong trust in each other. At the end of the film Petka goes back to save Chapaev. Chapaev also grew to have a strong relationship with his Commissar, Furmanov. In the beginning of this story they did not like each other and they ...

This film has been my favorite to watch so far. In Man with a Movie Camera , there is no real story, no real plot, and no real actors. It was really interesting to try to follow this movie, as it is an hour long. There is ups and downs and suspense, as every story should have. I think that there is a couple people who could be considered characters. The people who were on the screen for more then one scene, no matter how long the scenes were, could definitely be considered characters. I think that the main character is the man with the camera. He plays the biggest part in the film. Vertov uses montage scenes just like Eisenstien does. However, Vertov's montages go much faster in pace and the are used to show juxtaposition. The music was very interesting. I think that the way the one would describe it would be that it was industrial. It did change to fit the scenes and made the audience feel what Vertov was trying to convey. It was very interesting the way this movie started. I th...

 In the silent film Battleship Potemkin , we learn about the mutiny that happened in 1905 on the Black Sea. I found that this silent film is much different from the first two that we watched. This one has a much different pace then the other two films. At times it went very fast and absolutely nothing was standing still, and other times it went so slow. The slowest part of the film is the build up before the "battle." That moment seemed to go on for forever. The music kept going and and everyone was sitting waiting for something to happen. I feel that the director, Sergei Eisenstein, wanted to audience to feel as much intensity as the characters were feeling.  In Part 1 of this film, we learn as to why the sailors are rebelling. We learn that their meat is rotten and the men in charge are denying that fact. In Part 2 of this film the rebellion begins and the man to begin it, named Vakulinchuk, is the first man to die. Sailors eventually win and they take Vakulinchuk's bo...

I thought that both of these films were very interesting. The stories fit very well into the silent film genre. Silent films are very dramatized and they have to be. When you aren't able to project the stories through words you have to take more extreme actions and over exaggerate your acting to make the audience more engaged. Silent film actors are very good at showing their emotions in a clear way. Directors have to be sure to lead the story in a way that it can be followed easily, as well as choosing the right soundtrack to back the film. If they don't the films will not do well. The audience has to follow the story closely. If they miss one word screen they might miss something important. As a viewer of silent films one has to also pay closer attention to the music as it helps move the story along. As I watched these films I found that the music really lead the films and it signified the important parts of the films. As I watched Child of the Big City and  The Dying Swan ...

From the beginning of the second part of Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath! , it seemed that the ending was obvious. I did enjoy this movie though. It was very sweet and Zhenya and Nadya are very good counterparts. I think that both mothers are very supportive of their children and they just want their kids to be happy. Both Zhenya and Nadya obviously feel things for each other but Zhenya is more open about it and I think Nadya feels guilty that she is falling for someone other than Ippolit. I think that it is very telling of Ippolit's personality when he gets drunk and comes back to Nadya's apartment. I think that this is a wonderful movie and I can see why it is such a popular film.

I am thoroughly enjoying the film  Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!.  This movie is a comedy and even though this film is from the 1970s and Russian, it is very similar to the humor that I am used to today. The story line is written well and the actors do a wonderful job. The film portrays a story that probably will not happen to everyone, yet it is still relatable. Firstly, the aspect of love is something that the majority of people can relate to. At one point in the movie Zhenya expresses that he feels he will never find the woman he will marry. Many people have this fear and this movie plays off of that. Both main characters lose the one they love and feel as if they will never find the one for them.  Another detail of this movie that people can associate with is Zhenya's friends. His friends get him in to this bad situation. Although it is not on purpose and they were doing it because they care for each other, he is still out into this awkward situation and tha...