ORDA

Watched last night Andrei Proshkin's Orda [The Horde] (2012), a story of the fourteenth-century conflict between the fledgling Christian Muscovites and the Muslim Tartar "horde," when Metropolitan Alexius is requested to come heal the eyesight of the Tartar queen mother. In many ways it feels like a standard "saint" film, a Christian vehicle to explain the reasons for beatification of an important religious figure, a film that likely wouldn't have been made or supported by the Russian state only a few decades ago. And as well a historical/mythmaking of the origins of the state. I don't know how accurate the filmmakers were in recreating the Russian world of this age, but it felt "right." I suspect the portrayal of the "barbarians" and their lifestyle may be biased, but I really don't know much about the time or region. I wasn't overly impressed with the acting or plot, but it was still interesting.

ALEXANDRA

Tonight I watched an interesting Russian film, Alexandra, by director Alexander Sohurov. In this slow, but touching, film an elderly grandmother visits her officer grandson at his remote base in the Caucasus Mountains (Chechnya, I think), a dusty patch of frontier in a troubled corner of the Russian empire. She is a tough lady, who wants to see what is going on and even leaves the base by herself at one point to go to the nearby market, where she interacts with some of the local population. In many ways she is a typical matron, criticizing her grandson's appearance and lack of wife, notices his work feet and scraped knuckles (from disciplining a soldier) but she also is never dainty or restrained from doing what she wants to do. The film seems to be making judgments about the war through her eyes and experiences: the youthfulness of the troops, the tough discipline, the poor equipment and supplies. The men, for the most part, are amazed and smitten by the presence of the old lady at their base, and treat her with respect and almost a longing for their own families. There may be a bit of a message about the destruction the Russians have laid upon the region, but it is not heavy handed. The film, instead, tries to (I think) focus on the humantiy of all people, that despite differences, individuals can get along. If you are looking for an upbeat, action-packed thriller, this movie is not for you, but it is interesting and worthwhile. Obvioulsy much of the subtleness is lost on me, as I don't speak Russian, but I think I understood the movie fairly well.

RUSSIAN VAMPIRES

Night Watch is a decent Russian movie about the forces of good and evil, played out over the centuries as a tense relationship between two warring factions of Others. The walkers of the night, of course, are vampires. An agreement has been forged between the leaders of the sides that each will provide watchmen to assure that rogues (although Palin was not in this movie) will abide by their pact. But, of course, some stray, and the decision of one individual will have repercussions that will unleash. . .yes. . .another series of horror flicks. People walk the street, often unaware of their special powers, until some even triggers the realization that they are different, and then the individual must choose between light and dark. Although this movie is not up to the technical achievement of American and Western cinematography, such as that shown in the awesome Underworld and Matrix series, it is nonetheless enjoyable, if not a little clunky at times. I am sure it is a tad better for native Russian speakers, but the dubs were not that off-putting. I am looking forward to getting my hands on the second part, which I believe is titled Day Watch.

RUSSIAN LOVE

I seldom read memoirs, and even less frequently family histories, but found journalist Owen Matthews’ Stalin’s Children: Three Generations of Love, War, and Survival an enjoyable and instructive account of his parents’ family histories and heroic five-year struggle against Soviet intransigence to obtain the marriage they so desperately desired. It is a tale of a family from Ukraine, whose paterfamilias---a dedicated, well-liked Communist propaganda officer who backed the wrong horse in a political struggle---is secretly carted away and executed, with his wife soon to be thrown into and broken by the gulag, and whose two young daughters bravely survive life on the run or in orphanages. The hero of the story, Lyudmila, despite her hardships (including a crippled leg), is inspiring---you just fall in love with her (and maybe it is partly biased by her son's love, but it doesn't matter). Despite the terrible heart-rending stories, I am always heartened and amazed by the bravery of some people (such as the orphanage director who decides not to separate the sisters) in helping others for whom they owe nothing, but they do it anyway. It recounts the brutal famine, murders, and expulsions heaped upon Ukraine (the destruction of the kulaks during the collectivization of farms); the tough, desperate battle of the Soviets against the Germans; the totalitarian oppressiveness of the Soviet state. It recounts the love affair of the author’s English father with Russia, the attempt by the KGB to turn him, and then the difficult years of trying to obtain the release of his fiance from Russia. Just as interesting, possibly even more so, is the search by the author (a large part of which is facilitated by the letters between his parents during their separation) to uncover his family history (even uncovering a KGB file on the tirla and execution of his grandfather), and his descriptions of his work as a journalist (and his personal life) in Russia.
The book made me think of my mother. She was from Lviv & Kiev, Ukraine; she told me stories of the famine and occupations, and of the horrible execution of Jews from Kiev. She was a tough, independent, determined woman, who also became an exile and made a family in a new world. She didn't tell me all of her experiences, but there were always little signs. For instance, she often ate a entire apple, stem and seeds and all, as her disbelieving children looked on, and then she explained how they ate grass soup for months. She told me how a shell-hit horse was stripped clean in the streets as if the starving Ukrainians were piranha, of watching a house they had just run out of explode behind them. I could relate more, perhaps later, but I can say that I really miss my Mom. There was mention of cherry soup, which my mother made for me.
The book does not have a fairy tale ending, but it opens a window into life in Russia. I am sure some will quibble, but I found it interesting. Anyone interested in life under the Soviet regime will find it worthwhile.