settima

sovietunion

Ёжик в тумане [Yózhik v tumáne / Hedgehog in the Fog] (Yuri Norstein, 1975)

Jun

9

Donald Duck – 1934

Ёжик в тумане (1975)

Fireflies in the fog. DP: Aleksandr Zhukovskiy.

A [favourite] animated character for Donald Duck Day (USA)

“In the evenings, the little Hedgehog went to the Bear Cub to count stars. They would sit on the log and sip tea, gazing at the starry sky. It hung on the roof, just behind the chimney. To the right of the chimney were the Bear Cub's stars and the stars to the left were the Hedgehog's”

– opening lines

On his way to visit his friend Bear Cub, Hedgehog finds himself in a dense mistbank. Strange sounds, and even stranger creatures, omit from it. And all he wanted was have strawberry jam and tea with his friend.

Лісова пісня. Мавка [Lisova pisnya. Mavka / A Story of the Forest: Mavka] (Yuri Ilyenko, 1981)

Jun

7

National Trails Day

Лісова пісня. Мавка (1981)

Mavka (Lyudmila Efimenko) and the Spirit of the Forest (Boris Khmelnitskiy). DP: Yuri Ilyenko.

A movie that takes place in nature for National Trails Day (USA)

 

Mavka, a forest nymph, falls in love with mortal Lukash, who in his turn is punished by the Spirit of the Forest for marrying another mortal instead. Curse upon curse, Lukash is turned into a wolf, and Mavka into a weeping willow.

 

The colours, mood and impact of the four seasons on mortal and sprite alike is there, not only made visible by Ilyenko's ethereal, spiralling camera, but somewhere blooming deep inside us, observing.

Снежная королева [Snezhnaya koroleva / The Snow Queen] (Gennadiy Kazanskiy, 1967)

May

25

National Missing Children's Day

Снежная королева (1967)

Kai (Vyacheslav Tsyupa) under the Snow Queen's spell. DPs: Vadim Grammatikov & Sergei Ivanov.

Someone missing is found on National Missing Children's Day (USA)

 

Oh boy, how to do this one without a spoiler…

 

Siblings Gerda and Kai are best friends until one day, the Snow Queen's mirror shatters into a million pieces. One shard pierces Kai's eye, the other his heart, and from that moment on, all he can see is evil and his heart is cold. Now taken in by the Queen, and cold to Gerda's affection, the girl tries all to get Kai, the old Kai, back.

Летят журавли [Letyat zhuravli / The Cranes Are Flying] (Mikhail Kalatozov, 1957)

May

8

VE Day

Летят журавли (1957)

A young woman standing in what was a room in a building, looks out over the ruins of a city. A broken lampshade and a grandfather's clock whisper of other times. DP: Sergey Urusevskiy.

A non-battlefield war movie on VE Day. It had to be a Soviet film, on this date. Thank you, Russia.

“Time will pass. Towns and villages will be rebuilt. Our wounds will heal. But our fierce hatred of war will never diminish.”

– Stepan

When the cranes fly over Moscow, a young couple learns about the war. Now separated, one day, when it is over, if, they'll reunite

 

The hand-held cinematography, groundbreaking at the time, came from former war cameraman Sergey Urusevskiy.

Зеркало для героя [Zerkalo dlya geroya / Mirror for a Hero] (Vladimir Khotinenko, 1987)

May

8

1949

Зеркало для героя (1987)

Sergey Pshenichnyy (Sergey Koltakov) speaking to one of the 1940s farmers. DP: Evgeniy Grebnev.

Распад [Raspad / Collapse / Decay] (Mikhail Belikov, 1990)

Apr

25

1986

Распад (1990)

A young boy looks over his shoulder into the camera. He's seated at an extended table, set with food for many. A man in the back is on the phone; a woman walks around cradling a newborn child. In the corner of the room a baby cot. DP: Vasiliy Trushkovskiy.

Test pilota Pirxa [Pilot Pirx's Inquest] (Marek Piestrak, 1979)

Apr

12

International Day of Human Space Flight

Test pilota Pirxa (1979)

Men and nonlinears to board the ship set for Saturn's Cassini Division. DP: Janusz Pawłowski.

A manned spaceship for the International Day of Human Space Flight

“He began thinking about the innocence of machines, about how man had endowed them with intelligence and, in doing so, had made them an accomplice of his mad adventures. About how the myth of the golem — the machine that rebelled against its creator — was a lie, a fiction invented by the guilty for the sake of self-exoneration.”

– Stanisław Lem, Opowieści o pilocie Pirxie (1968)

Commander Pirx is sent out on a secret mission to evaluate “nonlinears” – androids – to determine if they can be used for future space flights. In a blind test, androids and humans form a crew for Pirx to investigate and identify.

უჟმური [Ujmuri / Мрачная равнина / Cheerless] (Nutsa Gogoberidze, 1934)

Mar

3

Florida – 1845

უჟმური (1934)

A young woman, dress and arms covered in swamp water, raises a muddy shotgun. DP: Shalva Apaqidze.

A swamp (or The Everglades) on that day in 1845 Florida became the 27th state.

 

The swamp dwellers' trust in shaman Uzhmuri, the Queen of Frogs, prohibits the authorities from draining the wetlands in their fight against malaria.

Тіні забутих предків [Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors] (Sergei Parajanov, 1965)

Feb

6

St. Dorothea of Caesarea

Тіні забутих предків (1965)

The childhood lovers to be newlyweds. During the wedding ceremony, the bride suddenly breaks out in smile. DPs: Yuri Ilyenko & Viktor Bestayev.

A wedding on the day of Dorothea of Caesarea, patron saint of horticulture, brewers, brides, florists, gardeners, midwives, newlyweds, and love.

Libahunt [Лесная легенда / Werewolf] (Leida Laius, 1968)

Jan

13

soup

Libahunt (1968)

A dinner table shown from above. Several people, we mainly see their hands and wooden spoons, eat from a hand-carved bowl. DP: Algimantas Mockus.