Burnt By The Sun (1994): Real Realism
Burnt by the Sun is overall not as dramatic as I thought it would be--my expectations were that it was going to for shock appeal and slightly over-exaggerated drama. But don't get me wrong, the film is still is very grim and intense. One could argue however that, do to the story being based on true characters and actual events, the film is even more emotional. I really enjoyed this film overall.
The contrast of innocents and ignorance (in my opinion portrayed by the colonels daughter Nadya) and the power and deceit (again in my opinion portrayed by Col. Kotov and Mitya) that exists in this film is beautifully horrifying. Unlike the previous Socialist Realism films we've watched that makes Russia during the 30's to be a sort of 'promise land for all', this film exhibits a very "real" realism. It seems to depict the laughter and joy and the despair and death that was reality during that time period. It is an emotional piece that tells a story about two sides of the same coin. On one side, life goes on and everyone enjoys each others' company. But on the other side, with power comes sacrifice, and we hear and see the evil of Stalin's reign materialize throughout the film (especially towards the end).
A few more interesting points are as follows:
At the beginning of the film, Col. Kotov stops a whole squadron of tanks simply with his name. The power of politics was so influential at the time that he was able to save a farmland just because of who he was.
A couple instances of patriotism in the film are as follows:
As the pioneers are seen several times marching and singing throughout the film, they strike a very dutiful appearance to the young girl Nadya, and she expresses how she wants to join them one day.
Col. Kotov during his one on one chat with his daughter Nadya tells her, "Cherish your motherland".
The contrast of innocents and ignorance (in my opinion portrayed by the colonels daughter Nadya) and the power and deceit (again in my opinion portrayed by Col. Kotov and Mitya) that exists in this film is beautifully horrifying. Unlike the previous Socialist Realism films we've watched that makes Russia during the 30's to be a sort of 'promise land for all', this film exhibits a very "real" realism. It seems to depict the laughter and joy and the despair and death that was reality during that time period. It is an emotional piece that tells a story about two sides of the same coin. On one side, life goes on and everyone enjoys each others' company. But on the other side, with power comes sacrifice, and we hear and see the evil of Stalin's reign materialize throughout the film (especially towards the end).
A few more interesting points are as follows:
At the beginning of the film, Col. Kotov stops a whole squadron of tanks simply with his name. The power of politics was so influential at the time that he was able to save a farmland just because of who he was.
A couple instances of patriotism in the film are as follows:
As the pioneers are seen several times marching and singing throughout the film, they strike a very dutiful appearance to the young girl Nadya, and she expresses how she wants to join them one day.
Col. Kotov during his one on one chat with his daughter Nadya tells her, "Cherish your motherland".
I really enjoy the point you made about the two sides of the coin. The film did a really good job of showing both how life in Russia was supposed to be and what the Soviet Union promised to be and then it showed what it actually was and how things actually worked.
ReplyDeleteI agree that that very drastic opposites in this film are very telling of Russia during the 30s.
ReplyDeleteThe example you brought up about Nadya expressing how she wants to join pioneers is a good example of that innocence and ignorance you mentioned. The film does a really good job of capturing that blissful unawareness that Nadya has.
ReplyDeleteYour review was really good. I also like how you pointed out Nadya's desire to be dutiful to her countries like the others and how her father tells her to cherish her country. It just makes me sad because the country he cherished ended up betraying him.
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