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Sunday, September 18, 2016

A ZORI ZDES TIKHIE / AT DAWN IT’S QUIET HERE (1972)

Big patriotic USSR war-porn corn from famous novel of beautiful, True-Blue (oops!, True-Red!) all women anti-aircraft unit. Shoot down many enemy planes (Huzza!, reward with nude sauna!), but get over heads when male commanding officer lead five ‘volunteers’ (‘Call out names’) into wood to hunt down pair of enemy scouts. Bolshoi trouble ahead when find not two, but sixteen in German unit. Soldier girl sent thru marshland for reenforcements, rest play-act as loggers, in hope to redirect Nazi column long way round lake. Writer/director Stanislav Rostotskiy show much fondness for visually idealized flashbacks of happy days, switching from monochrome to heightened color like for Jacques Demy musical. Very artistic, da? Then back to grim b&w reality. Tracking scenes in woods work best, as enemy spotted from afar; patient and believable. Happy ending too, at least for film, with Best Foreign Pic Oscar® nom., and USSR People’s Artist prize for Rostotskiy.

DOUBLE-BILL: Hollywood also like noble gals in WWII, beginning with SO PROUDLY WE HAIL!/’43.

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