Historical drama.
Russian writer Igor Bolgarin's film adaptation of the novel of the same name, and the book, in turn, is based on the real biography of the Russian Soviet intelligence officer of the period of the Civil and Great Patriotic War, Pavel Vasilyevich Makarov (although much has been changed for the sake of artistry). And since I have not read the book, therefore I will evaluate the film adaptation as an independent work. For the first time I got acquainted with this masterpiece of Soviet cinema at a young age, being still an ardent anti-Soviet (I am not proud of this fact of my biography), and then I did not worry much about the Reds, but I remembered the picture, and even then I revised it more than once. And so, years later, having straightened my brains and lived my life, becoming a communist, I decided to reconsider this picture again - and only now I realized its greatness and its significance, and its splendor, and its masterpiece, and its depth, of course. And here's my brief opinion - the Invisible front of the Civil War. I will note right away that there is not a single minus in the picture, but there are more than enough pluses for the highest rating. Therefore, I will finish with the introduction and move on to these very advantages.
So, here they are: 1. The scenario is 1919. South of Russia. A civil war is raging with might and main. The Whites under the command of General Denikin are preparing for a decisive offensive in order to defeat the Red Army and take Moscow. The southern front of the Reds is bursting at the seams. Only a miracle can save them, and it was at this time that, by order of the Cheka, a scout Pavel Koltsov was sent to Kharkov, where the headquarters of the Volunteer Army is located, with the task of penetrating into the location of the whites and finding out secret information of interest to the Chekists. Not without incident, but Captain Koltsov gets to Kharkov, and becomes none other than the adjutant of the commander of the Volunteer Army, Lieutenant General Vladimir Zenonovich Kovalevsky (May-Mayevsky). And after that, the battle of intelligence began, because it turns out that there is also a spy in the headquarters of the Southern Front of the Reds in Kiev, who delivers secret information to the whites. The stakes are rising, because there will still be romance, and a few more scenario lines that run parallel. All this is intertwined with the real historical events of those years, and of course the finale. Certainly sad, but also victorious at the same time. The fact that the picture was disassembled into quotations is no longer necessary to say ("Andreich fell, are you a spy?", "It was you, Miron, who killed Pavel", "Dim the wick, it smokes"). Dialogues are my homage. Intrigues - at the highest level, a fight of intelligence - well, I really worried about the red heroes. And despite the five episodes, the picture looks in one breath and will not make you bored. Comrades could write, they could!
2. Red and white - both sides are represented by people of different social status and different beliefs. It is shown that there were both good and noble people on the white side, and there were scoundrels and skinners, scammers and adventurers. Some of the whites are really pathetic. The reds are shown better, because there is nowhere without ideology, but you believe these reds. Yes, in reality, not all reds were good, and this is a fact. Russian russians were for the Reds, and the interventionists and the bourgeoisie were for the whites, to whom the interests of the Russian people were up to one place, that's why the whites lost. Therefore, the picture cannot be called a "red agitator", because it shows living people in a difficult, crucial time for Russia and the whole world, shows and tells about their motives, even the environment where they were brought up and on the basis of which they have exactly such a worldview.
3. Pavel Koltsov is a complex and heroic character, copied from a real person, but masterfully modified by Yuri Methodevich Solomin. How did it happen that a hereditary nobleman, an officer of the Russian army who had been fighting since 1914, became a red scout? Yes, he just understood his people, for whom he shed blood. He knew and believed that the Bolsheviks would lead the Russian people and the country to prosperity, where everyone would be equal, and that it was necessary to fight for this with those who did not want to establish this justice. And he explained all this by a simple example to his friend and pupil Yura (a nobleman and the son of a nobleman) in a small monologue. This decision was not easy, as was the romantic line, which tormented the hero's soul even more. But do not forget that he is carrying out the task of the Cheka right under the nose of Denikin's counterintelligence, which is ruthless to all enemies of the "white idea", and they will always have bullets and ropes for red spies. Pavel Koltsov even reminded me of Maxim Isaev.
4. The confrontation of the intelligence services - the Cheka against Denikin's counterintelligence. A new special service against veterans of the First World War. The truth is against slavery. Revolutionaries against executioners in uniform. On each side there are both smart people and not so smart, but mistakes in this profession cost hundreds, thousands of lives. Sometimes the whole course of hostilities can turn from a lightning-fast decision. And that's all right here. The Kiev "white" underground and the Kharkiv "red" are shown as a real acting force that works in the interests of the belligerents, and whose actions and sabotage bring victory closer or, conversely, delay it. On both sides, I act both tactfully and not very much if the caught agent does not agree to cooperate. In this regard, the Cheka really learned some subtleties of work from the Denikins, which allowed them to become the strongest special service in the world already during the Civil War, and then this tradition was continued by the GPU-OGPU-NKVD-NKGB-MGB-KGB.
5. Atmosphere - despite the fact that there is practically no fighting in the picture, this did not prevent the creators from catching up with the disturbing atmosphere of the Civil War through dialogues, characters, scenery and even music (which is not a frequent guest here). You can especially feel it now that the picture has been restored in high quality, the sound has been tightened and the picture has been improved. In general, the restoration of this painting should become an example to follow, because there are still a lot of Soviet paintings that are waiting for this very restoration, and they all just need it.
6. Acting - the Soviet acting school is for you "Stanislavsky I believe!" on every phrase, in every scene. Actors do not play, but live their characters on the screen. And everything is very convincing. The way they move, the way they speak, the manner of speech - everything emphasizes the social status of a person. Learn modern incompetents!
A little bit about the main characters: 1. Captain Pavel Koltsov, played by Yuri Solomin, is a nobleman, a former officer of the Russian Imperial army, who passed the trenches of the First World War, and now is a CHEKA agent with the call sign "Old Man", sent to the rear of the whites in order to search for secret information. Charming, brave, somewhat romantic, but true to the ideals of the revolution and ready to do anything in order to complete the task. Yuri Methodevich excellently managed to play this hero, showing his inner world and his thoughts. Bravo Yuri Methodievich! Bravo!
2. Vladimir Kovalevsky, played by Vladislav Strzhelchik, is a lieutenant general, commander of the Volunteer Army, a monarchist and one of the biggest white bigwigs in the South of Russia, who does not digest the Bolsheviks and their ideas as a class, and at the same time does not understand the Russian people against whom he is fighting. At the same time, he is shown to be quite calm and even a noble man, because in the First World War he fought bravely with the Germans and Austrians. The role of commander was superbly performed by Vladislav Ignatievich Strzhelchik, as always, everything pleased him. Well-deserved bravo!
3. Yuri Lviv, performed by Alexander Milokostny, is the son of a Russian officer, Colonel Lviv, who has had a hard time, and eventually turns out to be a pupil of Koltsov. During the painting, he undergoes a transformation, and becomes a brave man and understands on whose side the truth is. Alexander Viktorovich was convincing. Well done!
Interestingly, last time I wrote a review of the painting "Dauria" with the younger Solomin, and today I am writing about the "Adjutant of His Excellency" with the elder Solomin. I just love both artists, and they chose good pictures.
What can I say - a masterpiece, without further ado. Take a look if you haven't looked yet, or reconsider if you've forgotten what's there and how.
My rating is 10 out of 10 and my recommendation for viewing!
Russian writer Igor Bolgarin's film adaptation of the novel of the same name, and the book, in turn, is based on the real biography of the Russian Soviet intelligence officer of the period of the Civil and Great Patriotic War, Pavel Vasilyevich Makarov (although much has been changed for the sake of artistry). And since I have not read the book, therefore I will evaluate the film adaptation as an independent work. For the first time I got acquainted with this masterpiece of Soviet cinema at a young age, being still an ardent anti-Soviet (I am not proud of this fact of my biography), and then I did not worry much about the Reds, but I remembered the picture, and even then I revised it more than once. And so, years later, having straightened my brains and lived my life, becoming a communist, I decided to reconsider this picture again - and only now I realized its greatness and its significance, and its splendor, and its masterpiece, and its depth, of course. And here's my brief opinion - the Invisible front of the Civil War. I will note right away that there is not a single minus in the picture, but there are more than enough pluses for the highest rating. Therefore, I will finish with the introduction and move on to these very advantages.
So, here they are: 1. The scenario is 1919. South of Russia. A civil war is raging with might and main. The Whites under the command of General Denikin are preparing for a decisive offensive in order to defeat the Red Army and take Moscow. The southern front of the Reds is bursting at the seams. Only a miracle can save them, and it was at this time that, by order of the Cheka, a scout Pavel Koltsov was sent to Kharkov, where the headquarters of the Volunteer Army is located, with the task of penetrating into the location of the whites and finding out secret information of interest to the Chekists. Not without incident, but Captain Koltsov gets to Kharkov, and becomes none other than the adjutant of the commander of the Volunteer Army, Lieutenant General Vladimir Zenonovich Kovalevsky (May-Mayevsky). And after that, the battle of intelligence began, because it turns out that there is also a spy in the headquarters of the Southern Front of the Reds in Kiev, who delivers secret information to the whites. The stakes are rising, because there will still be romance, and a few more scenario lines that run parallel. All this is intertwined with the real historical events of those years, and of course the finale. Certainly sad, but also victorious at the same time. The fact that the picture was disassembled into quotations is no longer necessary to say ("Andreich fell, are you a spy?", "It was you, Miron, who killed Pavel", "Dim the wick, it smokes"). Dialogues are my homage. Intrigues - at the highest level, a fight of intelligence - well, I really worried about the red heroes. And despite the five episodes, the picture looks in one breath and will not make you bored. Comrades could write, they could!
2. Red and white - both sides are represented by people of different social status and different beliefs. It is shown that there were both good and noble people on the white side, and there were scoundrels and skinners, scammers and adventurers. Some of the whites are really pathetic. The reds are shown better, because there is nowhere without ideology, but you believe these reds. Yes, in reality, not all reds were good, and this is a fact. Russian russians were for the Reds, and the interventionists and the bourgeoisie were for the whites, to whom the interests of the Russian people were up to one place, that's why the whites lost. Therefore, the picture cannot be called a "red agitator", because it shows living people in a difficult, crucial time for Russia and the whole world, shows and tells about their motives, even the environment where they were brought up and on the basis of which they have exactly such a worldview.
3. Pavel Koltsov is a complex and heroic character, copied from a real person, but masterfully modified by Yuri Methodevich Solomin. How did it happen that a hereditary nobleman, an officer of the Russian army who had been fighting since 1914, became a red scout? Yes, he just understood his people, for whom he shed blood. He knew and believed that the Bolsheviks would lead the Russian people and the country to prosperity, where everyone would be equal, and that it was necessary to fight for this with those who did not want to establish this justice. And he explained all this by a simple example to his friend and pupil Yura (a nobleman and the son of a nobleman) in a small monologue. This decision was not easy, as was the romantic line, which tormented the hero's soul even more. But do not forget that he is carrying out the task of the Cheka right under the nose of Denikin's counterintelligence, which is ruthless to all enemies of the "white idea", and they will always have bullets and ropes for red spies. Pavel Koltsov even reminded me of Maxim Isaev.
4. The confrontation of the intelligence services - the Cheka against Denikin's counterintelligence. A new special service against veterans of the First World War. The truth is against slavery. Revolutionaries against executioners in uniform. On each side there are both smart people and not so smart, but mistakes in this profession cost hundreds, thousands of lives. Sometimes the whole course of hostilities can turn from a lightning-fast decision. And that's all right here. The Kiev "white" underground and the Kharkiv "red" are shown as a real acting force that works in the interests of the belligerents, and whose actions and sabotage bring victory closer or, conversely, delay it. On both sides, I act both tactfully and not very much if the caught agent does not agree to cooperate. In this regard, the Cheka really learned some subtleties of work from the Denikins, which allowed them to become the strongest special service in the world already during the Civil War, and then this tradition was continued by the GPU-OGPU-NKVD-NKGB-MGB-KGB.
5. Atmosphere - despite the fact that there is practically no fighting in the picture, this did not prevent the creators from catching up with the disturbing atmosphere of the Civil War through dialogues, characters, scenery and even music (which is not a frequent guest here). You can especially feel it now that the picture has been restored in high quality, the sound has been tightened and the picture has been improved. In general, the restoration of this painting should become an example to follow, because there are still a lot of Soviet paintings that are waiting for this very restoration, and they all just need it.
6. Acting - the Soviet acting school is for you "Stanislavsky I believe!" on every phrase, in every scene. Actors do not play, but live their characters on the screen. And everything is very convincing. The way they move, the way they speak, the manner of speech - everything emphasizes the social status of a person. Learn modern incompetents!
A little bit about the main characters: 1. Captain Pavel Koltsov, played by Yuri Solomin, is a nobleman, a former officer of the Russian Imperial army, who passed the trenches of the First World War, and now is a CHEKA agent with the call sign "Old Man", sent to the rear of the whites in order to search for secret information. Charming, brave, somewhat romantic, but true to the ideals of the revolution and ready to do anything in order to complete the task. Yuri Methodevich excellently managed to play this hero, showing his inner world and his thoughts. Bravo Yuri Methodievich! Bravo!
2. Vladimir Kovalevsky, played by Vladislav Strzhelchik, is a lieutenant general, commander of the Volunteer Army, a monarchist and one of the biggest white bigwigs in the South of Russia, who does not digest the Bolsheviks and their ideas as a class, and at the same time does not understand the Russian people against whom he is fighting. At the same time, he is shown to be quite calm and even a noble man, because in the First World War he fought bravely with the Germans and Austrians. The role of commander was superbly performed by Vladislav Ignatievich Strzhelchik, as always, everything pleased him. Well-deserved bravo!
3. Yuri Lviv, performed by Alexander Milokostny, is the son of a Russian officer, Colonel Lviv, who has had a hard time, and eventually turns out to be a pupil of Koltsov. During the painting, he undergoes a transformation, and becomes a brave man and understands on whose side the truth is. Alexander Viktorovich was convincing. Well done!
Interestingly, last time I wrote a review of the painting "Dauria" with the younger Solomin, and today I am writing about the "Adjutant of His Excellency" with the elder Solomin. I just love both artists, and they chose good pictures.
What can I say - a masterpiece, without further ado. Take a look if you haven't looked yet, or reconsider if you've forgotten what's there and how.
My rating is 10 out of 10 and my recommendation for viewing!
