The Universe of Vytautas Zhalakevichius — between the "Rostovschik" and Antonioni Yeah, yeah. Exactly. The film is somewhat reminiscent of "Roaster." Like Sidney Lumet, he is full of references to the events of World War II. It is the war in the background that sweeps through the souls of quite respectable “residents” of the sixties. It's their nerve.
But modernity, its sweet charm, coldness and some viciousness – all of them seem to be written off from the tapes of Antonioni. And, probably, if Antonioni were to copy himself, I think it would be worse than Almantas Grikevičius.
The film takes this – contrasts and style. Fashionable ladies and respectable sixties are replaced by showing a mournful procession of prisoners.
Maybe it could have been sharper. Quite. I definitely needed a better ending. But at the same time, we should not forget that we are not talking about the best years in the history of Soviet cinema. Definitely, the film is interesting, and the presence of the trio Žalakevicius (screenwriter)-Babkauskas-Budraitis makes the tape interesting today.
Besides, who knows - perhaps the film became a stepping stone in the study of the duet of Almantas Grykevičius and Vytautas Žalakevicius true military masterpiece. We are talking about the tape "Fact". Perhaps if there were no “Let there be life!” as it came out, there would not be such a winning “Fact” in all respects. Success must mature.
6 out of 10