The movie that Stanley Kubrick would probably have love to made
Titel Battalion
Director Dmitry Meskhiev
Cast Mariya Kozhevnikova Valeriya Shkirando Mariya Aronova Evgeniya Natanova
Swedish distribution Taanscine Balkan film festival
Dmitry Meskhiev has made on all point of view and really great movie that give us a really tragedy that 100 year ago took place on the other side of our Baltic see the death battalion and the last Russian offensive in Eastern Northern Europe. The model thank to the austere and beautiful really documentary cinematographer by Ilya Averbakh give a faithful reaction of the history that I have only see in Kubrick “Barry Lyndon” with a really difference that everything here is more full of life and passion because it is mostly a film over passion self-respect and love .By the way if I start my discussion from Kubrick there is one point that the part of the rather dreaming romantic lover lady Lyndon (Marisa Berenson beautiful as evr and so good in acting as ever) is make by two gentelamn Anastafies that is v a copy of a Zar officel and Petya (Mikhael Kasalov ) the beloved of one of the female soldier. If Kubrick recreate painting Dmitry Meskhiev create more of an early films a cine journal. In one of this we see in the beginning Afanasiy Bochkaryov really well played by Sergey Byzgu a officel and film maker of the imperial Russian army that come to Petrograd for inform Aleksandr Kerenskiy really well played by Marat Basharov about the difficult situation with soldier that are deserting fraternize with german that make them drunker and have communist propaganda. If Vsevolod Pudovkin had presented him only as a picklock hilarious Dmitry Meskhiev present him like a cynical polititian that decide to send to the front against the opinion of the serious and correct general Ilya Tatishchev ( really good Valeriy Degtyar) the half of the Russian people that he hasn’t already kill the girls. We see how one of them that in this coral film will be excellent play by Alyona Kuchkova that is a Russian Mansell that sings like a Nightingale opera and live with his mother play by Khelga Filippova ave the news that her beloved is kill. The best friends isVera and in this aprt Valeriya Shkirando s all her capacity. they will be follow by the maid play by Irina Rakhmanova will prove to be a really fury They are going to sign for a forced only made by woman and we soon see some of their companion like the muscle bride Dusyna (very well by Yanina Malinchik that is like a twins sister to Vincent D’Onofrio in Full metal jacket or even Animal in the same film and the general daughter Natalya Tatishcheva in which part Mariya Kozhevnikovaife part. The command is on the androgynous and really hard Mariya Bochkareva and in this part Mariya Bochkarevah tougher that the sergeant Harman in Full metal jacket. As soon as the girl get their hair shaved by male barber and their uniform they become a military unit and a very efficient one and the training is hard a really well follow by the editor Mariya Sergeenkova really intense rhythm to this scenes and the film is a crescendo of both violence but also about self-respect and comradeship into a hell of a battle . the girl that will be outside is the only that is not convinced Galina ply by the red hairs Polina Dudkina , This part as something of comical and child alike the other man in the soviet. The battle scene has no rhetoric and they are spectacular but also ugly and brutal like when a German man step to death Irina (Mila Makarova) or the older maid of the group Rivka the only ethical Jews played by the Jews singer Evgeniya Natanova throw her on a hand granite or in the gas attacks. The patriotically is present but the friendship the respect a film that entertain us, amuse and touch as and that we really have to see