Ballad of a Soldier (1957)
Ballad of a Soldier, a war story mixed with romance, youth, and adventure, breaks the earlier Socialist Realism and sets wave for a new era of film. Although the film at the beginning quickly turns from a peaceful prairie into a war-ridden battlefield, the movie comes back full-circle and in the end becomes a heartwarming classic. I really did enjoy this film a lot, as it very much told a bittersweet story through the eyes on a young unnoticed everyday hero.
In this film, just as the main character Alexsei (commonly referred to as Alyosha) does his best to help those in need, others show a great deal of compassion on him. We first see this with the commander giving him 5 days of leave, more than he asked for. The second instance is the guard turning a blind eye for him on the cargo train (although this was perhaps achieved mainly through bribery). A final example would be when he and his love interest Shura are caught by the lieutenant, and instead of being ordered off, the "beast" gave them permission to ride along. However, during the scene in which the train is attacked and catches fire, many of the surrounding people become hostile towards him for being a soldier (and involved with the war) and seemingly accuse and blame him for the tragedy. Overall, both elements makes Alyosha as a character much more likable, in addition to his reliability.
There is also a sense of adventurous youth throughout the film--young romance, hiding from authorities, risking one's life for those you love, becoming an underdog--all of these and more are found within this film. As the viewer watches, and as I watched, one could perhaps can greatly relate to Alyosha, whether it be in wishful envy or in nostalgic reminiscence. This often conflicts with older characters in the film, such as the babushka who helps him with his errand or even some of those mentioned above. There is constantly a comparison of old and new among the characters.
Both of the above points considered, this film seems to defy what Socialist Realism used to be. It actually shows negative sides of war (people cursing Alyosha, people solomly listening to the radio, and Alyosha's mother begging he not return to war). Although Alyosha is made out to be a hero, his 'heroic' moment on the battlefield was quite short and not the focus of the film. There also was very little mention of Russia being a 'promise land' for all, as we saw in past films such as Circus. (Perhaps the very last line of the film somewhere along the lines of"a tale of a Russian soldier!" could be debated.) Instead the film focuses on the main character's adventure to see his mom, his everyday interactions with others, and finding love along the way. In other words, it does not feel like a government sponsored film.
The film in a few ways reminds me of the Japanese film Kabei: Our Mother (母べえ, 2008), especially during the train departure scene. It is a fabulous film taking place around World War II from a Japanese perspective. More info here.
In this film, just as the main character Alexsei (commonly referred to as Alyosha) does his best to help those in need, others show a great deal of compassion on him. We first see this with the commander giving him 5 days of leave, more than he asked for. The second instance is the guard turning a blind eye for him on the cargo train (although this was perhaps achieved mainly through bribery). A final example would be when he and his love interest Shura are caught by the lieutenant, and instead of being ordered off, the "beast" gave them permission to ride along. However, during the scene in which the train is attacked and catches fire, many of the surrounding people become hostile towards him for being a soldier (and involved with the war) and seemingly accuse and blame him for the tragedy. Overall, both elements makes Alyosha as a character much more likable, in addition to his reliability.
There is also a sense of adventurous youth throughout the film--young romance, hiding from authorities, risking one's life for those you love, becoming an underdog--all of these and more are found within this film. As the viewer watches, and as I watched, one could perhaps can greatly relate to Alyosha, whether it be in wishful envy or in nostalgic reminiscence. This often conflicts with older characters in the film, such as the babushka who helps him with his errand or even some of those mentioned above. There is constantly a comparison of old and new among the characters.
Both of the above points considered, this film seems to defy what Socialist Realism used to be. It actually shows negative sides of war (people cursing Alyosha, people solomly listening to the radio, and Alyosha's mother begging he not return to war). Although Alyosha is made out to be a hero, his 'heroic' moment on the battlefield was quite short and not the focus of the film. There also was very little mention of Russia being a 'promise land' for all, as we saw in past films such as Circus. (Perhaps the very last line of the film somewhere along the lines of"a tale of a Russian soldier!" could be debated.) Instead the film focuses on the main character's adventure to see his mom, his everyday interactions with others, and finding love along the way. In other words, it does not feel like a government sponsored film.
The film in a few ways reminds me of the Japanese film Kabei: Our Mother (母べえ, 2008), especially during the train departure scene. It is a fabulous film taking place around World War II from a Japanese perspective. More info here.
Alyosha was a good main character, he did not have many flaws. He could have been developed further if he did have some more flaws.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the film was enjoyable because it had adventure to it. While the film points out at the end that Alyosha could've lived his life as anything else other than a soldier, it does a great effort of proving that point by showing his compassion towards the people interacts with.
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy the lack of Socialist Realism, and the blatant attempt to completely subvert it in the film.
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