Beat the Enemy!
World War II is raging on the Eastern front but the soldier Nikanor is sent to Siberia: not as a prisoner, but as a leader of a motley group of entertainers who travel from village to village giving agitprop concerts to the locals – deported people from all over the USSR. They perform little sketches and play films. Still, Big Brother is watching and when the entertainers encounter a strange man in the woods there is trouble brewing. One of the performers falls in love with the mysterious backwoodsman, but he is under strict supervision, too.
Production: Russia, 2007
Duration: 127 min.
Director: Vitaly Melnikov
Cast: Victor Sukhorukov, Kirill Pirogov, Natalya Tkachenko, Anna Danilova, Nikita Leitland, Aleksey Devotchenko, Ludmila Zaytseva, Oksana Mysina
Angel’s Aisle
The action takes place in Soviet Russia and in Finland, in 1924-1939. Maxim, a son of a priest and a young commissar, has a secret mission to liquidate Finnish general on a monastery island. Living through a tragic spiritual regeneration and repentance Maxim finds assassination impossible.
This film tries to answer complicated morality questions on foolishness of war, on hatred, murder and human need for faith, love and repentance.
Production: Russia, 2008
Duration: 92 min.
Director: Nikolay Dreyden
Cast: Aleksey Morozov, Emilia Spivak, Artur Vakha, Tapani Perttu, Dmitry Lysenkov, Vitaly Kovalenko, Ekaterina Novikova
Passenger
The year 1882. Russian clipper ship “Smely” (“The Brave”) is on his way from San Francisco to Hong-Kong. Russian consul asks it’s Captain to take a passenger on board. She is going to Hong-Kong in order to meet her husband from America.
Despite among seamen a woman on ship is strongly associated with troubles, the all the crewmen are completely enchanted and meet young lady with honors. Her charming beauty and modesty bring great fuss into hasteless way of life of stern men, and this even cause two midshipmen to quarrel.
For the time being no one knows that a husband of young lady is burned out on speculations with gold diggings.
Based on Konstantin Stanukovich’s similarly named story
Production: Russia, 2008
Duration: 95 min.
Director: Stanislav Govoruhin
Cast: Anna Gorshkova, Viktor Suhorukov, Ivan Agapov, Sergey Batalov, Marat Basharov, Yuriy Gorbach, Fedor Dobronravov, Nikita Efremov, Petr Zaichenko, Aleksei Koryakov, Roman Madyanov, Michail Mironov, Sergey Nikonenko, Irina Pegova, Stanislav Govoruhin
