Not the head, but the rolling field. The second full-length film by Yevgeny Bryunchugin turned out to be somewhat controversial. Poet, playwright, screenwriter Lydia Aleksandrovna Kompaniets wrote an interesting story in which milkmaids of the collective farm “Trud” are in the first place, and only then – the collective farm in the aggregate. Old films about agriculture (the picture turned 60 years old) are generally distinguished by some “varnishing”, which is very easy to justify the desire of the director to show life after the war a little better than it really is. However, there is nothing particularly “embellished” Bryunchugin did not have to, because the plot is based on a painfully familiar story about how to “make” a simple worker hero-order-bearer.
This phenomenon “sinned” business owners at all times. As one of the characters correctly put it: “From her radiance and I will be in the light”, only to shine – it is ungrateful: today you are in favor, and your portraits are on the front page of the magazine, and tomorrow? And tomorrow it may be that all your records were on paper. The structure of the film is classic: a positive and negative groom, two friends who are pushed aside not even by resentment, but by pride, unexpectedly crushing all other qualities. And the chairman, who is, as they say, “both his own and someone else’s”: in words to the superior one, but in fact – in his mind.
For Ada Rogovtseva in 1956 - this is the third picture, and what a brilliant role! Marjana Kudel in her performance is youth, tenderness, honesty, compassion, and self-sacrifice. Very bright and cheerful character. I can’t say the same about male characters. The director, in my opinion, did not quite successfully select the actors for the male roles of the first plan. I'm not saying they played badly. Nope. But portraying "grooms" when you're almost 10 years older than "the bride" is not entirely convincing. With the exception of Oleg Borisov, who “according to the Constitution” is very well suited for the role of the driver Kuzi, the other male actors look obvious “overstarts”.
In general, the picture turned out to be lively, bright, interesting. The shooting is great. Beautiful Ukrainian nature. The singing of nightingales is a real living leitmotif, they do not notice because they are brought into the title of the picture. Plus, there are wonderful Ukrainian songs and funny chaps.
