"Bezhin lug" is a film long thought lost. Only in the '60s fragments were found, but even today the film is far from complete. This makes it difficult to write a review.
The film is situated in a Kolchoz. A farmer with nostalgia for his former existence as a free farmer (Samokhin) is betrayed by his own son (Stepok). Stepok becomes a hero because he has warned against "contra revolutionary elements".
Within the oeuvre of Sergei Eisenstein "Bezhin lug" (1937) can be seen in connection with "Old and new" (1929). "Old and new" is about the collectivization of agriculture. In "Bezhin lug" this collectivization is finished but has to be defended against the already mentioned "contra revolutionary elements".
The film is very revealing about the nature of totalitarian rule. Even in your own family it is dangerous to be honest.
The authorities were not pleased by "Bezhin lug", and the film was not released, disappeared in archives and later gets lost. The question is why?
Is the film, Stepok being the hero, not politically very correct?
The above question is very hard to answer. During his career Eisenstein developed from the convinced Communist of "Strike" (1925) to the doubts expressed in "Ivan Groznyy" (1944 & 1958), which contains hidden criticism on Stalin. "Bezhin lug" is somewhere in the middle of that development. The story is still politically correct, but is the visual language politically correct also?
In numerous images there is a face at the edge of the frame, symbolizing (for me) the omnipresence of traitors in a totalitarion society.
The film is situated in a Kolchoz. A farmer with nostalgia for his former existence as a free farmer (Samokhin) is betrayed by his own son (Stepok). Stepok becomes a hero because he has warned against "contra revolutionary elements".
Within the oeuvre of Sergei Eisenstein "Bezhin lug" (1937) can be seen in connection with "Old and new" (1929). "Old and new" is about the collectivization of agriculture. In "Bezhin lug" this collectivization is finished but has to be defended against the already mentioned "contra revolutionary elements".
The film is very revealing about the nature of totalitarian rule. Even in your own family it is dangerous to be honest.
The authorities were not pleased by "Bezhin lug", and the film was not released, disappeared in archives and later gets lost. The question is why?
Is the film, Stepok being the hero, not politically very correct?
The above question is very hard to answer. During his career Eisenstein developed from the convinced Communist of "Strike" (1925) to the doubts expressed in "Ivan Groznyy" (1944 & 1958), which contains hidden criticism on Stalin. "Bezhin lug" is somewhere in the middle of that development. The story is still politically correct, but is the visual language politically correct also?
In numerous images there is a face at the edge of the frame, symbolizing (for me) the omnipresence of traitors in a totalitarion society.