User Reviews

The movie is based on the the same name novel of the Nobel Prize In Literature Winner Mikhail Sholokhov. The action is taken place in 20-30-s years of the XX century in the Russian countryside going through an uneasy process of collectivization. The role of Makar Nagulnov, the communist hard-liner, is one of the best performances of famous Soviet artist Evgeny Matveev.

Historical drama. The second adaptation of the eponymous novel of the same name by the outstanding and famous Russian and Soviet writer Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov. Why didn't you watch the first 1939 adaptation? It's simple - the fact is that it is based only on the first part of the book, and the second covers the main events of the entire novel. I have the book itself, it was already published in 1987, and I intend to read it as soon as I finish with How the Steel Was Tempered. Thanks to the rebel Jack for his interest in this work and this film adaptation. And here is my brief opinion - The history of the country in a difficult time. I was completely delighted with this picture, or rather the TV movie, divided into three episodes, because this is not just a film adaptation, but practically the story of the life of my grandparents in those years (if we remove the Cossack flavor). There is a small note, but I will mention this near the end. Let me now focus your attention on the expressive merits of this historical drama. So, here they are: 1. The topic touched upon - the picture tells us about Collectivization - the creation in the Soviet Union in the late twenties - early thirties of the twentieth century, a system of collective farms - collective farms in short, in order to bring order to the agriculture of a huge country. I am sure many of you have heard tales about "innocent kulaks", bloody communists, ruthless commissars (committees of the poor) who "destroyed" the Russian peasant and turned him into a slave. Classic liberal propaganda and tales that people have firmly believed in for more than one decade. I want to say to such people that without collectivization there would be no industrialization, and without it there would be no victory in the Great Patriotic War, and a post-war record-breaking restoration of the national economy. Collectivization was necessary, and it was not without human tragedies, this is true. There was injustice, but there was a lot. Life itself is never easy. Usually they are used to portraying this topic exclusively in a bad way and making the "communists" and "nostalgic for the USSR" repent for it. And here you are! Liberals, democrats and tolerance of all stripes! 2. Scenario - a twenty-five thousandth man arrives at a Cossack farm from Leningrad (ask yourself who it is) Semyon Davydov - a communist sent to help the local party cell to create a collective farm. Cossacks are a people that needs a special approach. And Semyon is still in the past - a Baltic sailor. I will not talk here about the feelings that people from these groups have for each other. You know all this perfectly well without me. Here our hero will have to get acquainted with the local situation, so to speak, to conduct agitation so to speak, to establish contact with the locals so to speak, and to expose the White Guard conspiracy so to speak. There are more than enough events in the picture. The creators were obviously careful about the original source, for which I thank them. The local flavor cannot be confused with anything - Don is like Don, Cossacks are Cossacks. If you love pictures on historical subjects and on this era, and do not want to look at modern chernukha on this topic - then you definitely come here! 3. Characters - communists, White Guards, kulaks, Cossacks - in short, everything is shown by people with their own merits and demerits, who rejoice at victories and sad at defeats. Among them there are idealists and materialists. The outlined transition from the old world to the new, which is being built by the communists and collective farmers, is clearly visible. You empathize with all of them, because everyone is right in something. Even the romantic line made me happy. I liked how the characters communicate with each other - in a simple way. As it was in reality (thanks to my grandmother's stories about village life). All the characters are captivating with their sincerity, and the actors did their best. 4. Final - it was unexpected for me, partly even shocking. To see this was akin to Gagarin's flight into space. I was counting on a completely different ending, but it turned out the way it happened. 5. Atmosphere - music, acting, costumes and scenery make it clear from the first seconds that we have an epic canvas and the fate of the people of a huge country in a difficult time. Only recently has the world changed forever, and now the whole world is looking closely at the world's first socialist state and its beginnings. But the work is not easy - to turn the agrarian country into a powerful industrial superpower, capable of repelling any attack of the enemy, both external and internal. The old world is broken, and new generations will have to build a new one - the best one, where all people will be happy. They worked, did not spare themselves, for the sake of us and our descendants, and we are the future - we flushed it down the toilet and sold it for gadgets. Worthy. Say hello to those who rode in August 1991 in Moscow. A little about the main characters: 1. Semyon Davydov performed by Pyotr Chernov - a Leningrad worker who arrived in a Cossack farm to carry out the order of the party. A courageous, decisive, reasonable person who instantly finds his bearings in a difficult environment. He won't go into his pocket for a word. Meanness and deceit are absent. Captures the viewer's attention almost instantly. Peter played this role perfectly. 2. Makar Nagulnov performed by Yevgeny Matveev - secretary of the party cell of the farm. In the past, he was a renowned commander of the Red Army who had awards. A brave and no less charismatic hero than Davydov. Will definitely become your favorite as soon as you start watching this picture. That's for sure! Evgeny Matveev played the role of a local communist superbly. Bravo! 3. Shukar performed by Vladimir Dorofeev is a local grandfather who looms somewhere nearby, and periodically distracts attention with his everyday stories. He was a watchman who had seen a lot. An interesting point by the way, Vladimir Dorofeev played the same role in the first film adaptation of 1939. The first episode turned out to be dynamic and memorable. The second and third cannot boast of this, unfortunately. Monotony at a certain moment can ruin interest. What happened to the White Guards? Unfortunately, no one will answer this question. These comments are insignificant, and do not greatly affect the final grade. Again, I liked the picture, because it shows the history of our common country, citizens of the former USSR, which our ancestors built for us not so that we would miss it and sell it, which ultimately happened. The picture honestly and sincerely shows their difficult life and collectivization. And it's good that modern directors didn't reshoot this picture. And one more thing - the picture clearly needs restoration and re-release in the blu-ray format, so that the new generation of viewers can get acquainted with this picture and see the life and exploits of our grandfathers and grandmothers, great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers. As a result, we have an excellent historical drama, based on the epochal novel by Mikhail Sholokhov, with an excellent script, excellent atmosphere, excellent theme, great atmosphere, and amazing acting work. My rating is 9 out of 10 and my recommendation for viewing!