Yes, another Russian film. I guess I’m just finding myself captivated by cultures I know so very little about. And being whisked away from my own repressed and aggressively-conservative English one.
Surely, a discussion for a future therapy session.
I’m not a particularly intelligent soul, but that doesn’t mean I’m happy with being ignorant. So, yes, I’m ignorant, but not wilfully ignorant. If that makes sense. It does?! Great!
As is the way with this series of posts, I watched Primite telegrammu v dolg without it being translated for me, either through an English dub or by the inclusion of subtitles. I just find hearing human voices, without understanding them, quite relaxing. It’s like being back in the womb, which helps to relieve my constant anxiety. So, bearing all that in mind, let’s see what I could discern from the film, then look up a proper synopsis. I will admit that, having accidentally seen the Russian title translated, it means that one element has already been revealed to me.
Bah!
Anyway, the film appears to tell the story of a naive but likeable young boy, who spends his days either doing chores on his family’s working farm or delivering telegrams. The latter I only know about due to that pesky title spoiler, I originally assumed he was delivering farm produce. During his telegram runs aboard his bicycle, he literally has his two tiny siblings in tow, which is just adorable. He also seems to be quite the ladies man about town, albeit with little old ladies. Eventually, the boy tries to impress a young local girl by becoming more refined. You know, instead of rolling around in filth wearing only underpants. His posh behaviour freaks his down-to-Earth family out, and he is still rejected by the object of his affections. The whole affair ends up leading to tragedy, when the girl’s ruffian friends violently assault our protagonist and destroys his beloved bicycle. Once a harsh winter hits, the local girl, now wracked with guilt, turns up at the farm to apologise to the boy, but he rejects her for a change. The girl persists, with both kids sitting down to enjoy a warm fire together, surely being symbolic of the boy’s heart defrosting.
How very Soviet!
Right, let’s see how well I did. I failed miserably with the first two episodes of Dekalog, but I’ve got a good feeling about this one…
…just a second…
Ah, a detailed synopsis appears to be hard to find, although it’s actually a toy aircraft that gets destroyed at the end, not a bike. I suppose pedal bicycles don’t usually feature materials that explode, so I really should have figured that out for myself. And the boy’s telegram job is a means to fund the building of said aircraft. Oh well, I am pretty confident that I got the rest right, even though it is technically the B-story.
Feel free to furnish me with a fuller synopsis, if you’re able to find one.
As I mentioned in my discussion of My Life as a Dog, if someone who doesn’t understand the language your film is presented in can still be moved to tears by the end, then you have truly mastered the art of visual storytelling. And I was indeed crying. The musical score, which is incredibly haunting, aided my emotional outburst a great deal too. The lead actor, Andrey Tikhonchik, can light up the darkest of Russian winters with just his smile, so it’s a shame this is the only thing he’s credited for. He carries the entire film with his plucky charm and sombre grace.
I guess his teenage years led him onto other endeavours.
You can find the film here.
Do stay in touch, comrades.
Poka!
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