13. Dear Comrades! (Dorogie tovarishchi); movie review

 

DEAR COMRADES! (DOROGIE TOVARISHCHI)

Cert TBA

121 mins

BBFC advice: TBA

Four days ago, Mrs W and I watched CNN open-mouthed for two hours as a mob overran the seat of American government, egged on by their President.

We could not believe how easy it seemed to be for the rabble to burst past law enforcement officers and how moderate the latter were when they finally removed them from the Capitol.

We were given a sharp focus on what would have happened in another country in the face of dissent against the establishment when watching Dear Comrades!

Andrey Konchalovskiy's movie represents two days in 1962 in which at least 26 people died because they had the temerity to support a strike in the Soviet Union.

It stars the excellent Yuliya Vysotskaya as Lyuda, a member of the Communist Party's city committee in Novocherkassk on the River Don.

There is resentment in the community that prices have risen, food is scarce and yet wages at the city's major factory have been cut by a third.

This prompts the strike which sends reverberations all the way to Moscow.

The film shows that it was in the red army's constitution never to shoot on the Soviet people but the politicians and KGB thought otherwise.

Thus, protesters were mown down by gunfire.

Lyuda is a hardline communist and believed that tough action should be taken against the strikers. However, her attitude changes when she fears that her 18-year-old daughter (Yuliya Burova) could be among the casualties.

Dear Comrades! is a fascinating look inside the Soviet Union during a time when there would have been a blanket block on communication.

In 2021, we are used to live streaming and seeing news unfold in front of us. In Novocherkassk in 1962, anyone who was aware of the shootings had to sign an official document to agree not to speak to another living soul about it.

This was even the case for the bereaved.

Indeed, only in the early 90s, did the horror of the massacre emerge.

Konchalovskiy's movie brilliantly recreates the political environment of the day in sharp black and white.

This is particularly apt because the people were seen as being on the party's side or they weren't.

Move on nearly 60 years and the echoes of the United States are loud and clear.

Reasons to watch: Fascinating and disturbing glimpse behind the Iron Curtain

Reasons to avoid: Needs a bit of background knowledge

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: Yes

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Did you know? Major suspects among the highest Soviet officials such as Nikita Khrushchev, Anastas Mikoyan, Frol Kozlov and several others who were deemed responsible for the massacre were never held accountable due to their deaths by the time the investigation has started in 1992. The fate of others remains unknown. 

The final word. Andrei Konchalovsky: My objective is usually to try and capture the absolute authentic feelings of the characters, to try to snatch this event as a piece of real life. As a director, I want to create action but also to make this a type of documentary.” Deadline

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