Shadow of a better world It is rather unpleasant to see that such a remarkable example of Soviet cinema is almost unknown to a wide range of viewers. And by the way, this is a decent example of socialist realist drama. With respect to an honest, working man, with dislike of filthy criminalism, parasitism... Hot, drunk and all sorts of skam. The main character is the Baltic (Lithuanian), in our modern cinema, the positive Balt is like a positive communist in the cinema of Nazi Germany (Russians and Soviets in THEIR, Baltic, films are no better, but this is an extremely politicized topic, I will not touch), but since the cinema is Soviet, Jonas is an exceptionally handsome man who instructs a young slob who has fallen into bad company, life. Not obtrusively and with the name of Lenin on his lips, but as an intelligent teacher and just a wise senior comrade who has seen different things. Sometimes you think about the topic – how many people could become different, they met on their life path of such a person?
The plot is unassuming, and the story is essentially edifying. In general, the idea in the film is quite good, and the main thing is that all the vile, thieving romance in it is leveled. The main bastard is charismatic to a certain extent, but his rotten essence comes out and those who follow him will get a-ta-ta, and realistically. Of course, those on the wrong path will also be re-educated.
There are two epic muzzle scenes in the film that are really epic, especially for a film of this genre. And there is realism, for example, if in Hollywood films the villain gets, for example, a knife - that hero who just barely fought off beatings, shows some incredible miracles of dexterity, so as not to catch a blade in a soft hairy belly, and begins to defend much more effectively, here - a noticeable exception, but I will not spoiler.
There are a couple of unrealistic scenes in the film. Well, have you seen a lot of situations where some fucking drunk and degenerate at the factory took the blame for the joint (which caused dozens, if not hundreds of employees to suffer financially)? But the film is idealistic, in fact, this distinguishes Soviet cinema from the current slop. Cynical times produce the same kind of culture. And for those who are tired of black women and those who love socialist realism, watch. The cinema does not reach the masterpiece due to its simplicity, bordering on primitiveness (that is not a bug, but a feature), but sometimes you want to look at normal people. The film is a kind of idealized portrait of the era, flashing on the wall a shadow of something good. Yes, it was not perfect, but some desire for the best is missing. It’s like two chairs... sorry, two extremes – a black man, or such an idealistic and censored (but not primitive) view.