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Little Vera (1988)
worth watching once
11 December 2007
What I found so interesting about this film was the incredible contrast of subject matter and mood between this film and the Russian films that came before it.

A product of Glasnost, in an attempt to modernize the cinema and remove censorship, allowed for Russians to be shown realistically and their individual stories be told instead of a happy Russian body of agreeable people.

The film addresses the reality of dysfunctional families, crammed into small apartments, alcoholism, poverty, and young adults confused and rebelling against authority.

Little Vera depicts Vera and her family with attitudes of hopelessness, apathy and loneliness.

I liked the movie for the fact that it is ground breaking – showing problematic issues and stories of individuals that were never or could never be shown on screen previously under oppressive governments.

I personally wouldn't watch it again. Its worth watching once! Once was enough for me because I hated all the characters and was left depressed after watching a movie where people are constantly fighting –but that- I think is the point of the film.
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The Circus (1936)
tsirk
23 October 2007
Warning: Spoilers
I haven't seen many propaganda films but among the ones I have seen, Tsirk was the most entertaining. Tsirk is a socialist propaganda movie commissioned by Stalin with an overall theme of equality and unity. Marion, played by Lyubov Orlova, is an American dancer on tour with a secret. Von Kneishitz her stage manager, who seems very German, knows her secret and threatens to expose her because he believes her secret is so scandalous that no one will accept her. In the end Marion's secret is exposed to the public but it turns out the public does not replace her, because they are soviet Russia and they accept everyone no matter what! It was interesting to see this movie and be able to compare it to the musicals that were being created at the same time in other parts of the world. I also found it interesting that they had to have a character in the movie that was evil and represented Germans. The very end of the movie was the best because the extreme amount of obvious propaganda. The movie as a whole was a propaganda film but the ending reminded me of watching the grand finale of a fireworks how they once gradually get faster and increase in number. The end of this movie was also like a grand finale for soviet propaganda. The song and the people involved with it gradually increased, got louder and a huge picture of Stalin was carried by the crowd. I'm glad I watched it for historical purposes but I would only recommend the film to someone who was interested in history or propaganda films.
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