The Russian film Dorogie tovarishchi (2020) was shown in the U. S. with the title Dear Comrades! It was co-written and directed by Andrey Konchalovskiy.
The outstanding actor Yuliya Vysotskaya portrays Lyuda, a local Communist official. Lyuda truly believes in the Soviet government--she's not a anti-Communist in disguise. When problems occur, she's a hard-liner.
Problems do arise. In fact, the events depicted, known as the Novocherkassk massacre, took place in 1962. The Wikipedia account of the events is certainly parallel to what's shown in the film.
However, this isn't a documentary. The plot revolves around Lyuda and her daughter, which personalizes the film for us.
It's clear to me that the present Russian government wants these events to be known. Dear Comrades! Was the official Russian entry for the 93rd Academy Awards.
We saw this movie courtesy of the Rochester Labor Film Festival. It would work better on the large screen, but at the moment that's not a possibility. Dear Comrades! Has an acceptable IMDb rating of 7.2. However, I thought it was a brilliant movie, and rated it 10.
95% - Critics
79% - Audience
7.4Plot summary
Novocherkassk, USSR, 1962. Lyudmila is a Party executive and devout communist who had fought in WWII for Stalin's ideology. Certain that her work will create a communist society, the woman detests any anti-Soviet sentiment. During a strike at the local electromotive factory, Lyudmila witnesses a laborers' piquet gunned down under orders from the government that seeks to cover up mass labor strikes in USSR. After the bloodbath, when survivors flee from the square, Lyudmila realizes her daughter has disappeared. A gaping rift opens in her worldview. Despite the blockade of the city, mass arrests, and the authorities' attempts to cover up the massacre, Lyudmila searches for her daughter. We don't know how the search will end, but realize that the woman's life won't ever be the same.
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If we don't have Communism, what will we have?
The Dangers of Ideologies
A woman who has staunchly devoted herself to building a Communist state in Russia in the 1960s is forced into a moral reckoning when the conflict between her ideology and those rebelling against it gets personal.
Yuliya Vysotskaya delivers a taut, sensational performance as Lyuda, a woman whose daughter is among those missing after a deadly riot at a factory. Suddenly, big picture ideals and abstract ambitions collapse around her and her entire life becomes laser focused on finding out whether or not her daughter is still alive. To an American audience watching this movie in 2021, it is impossible not to see our own cultural dilemma reflected, not necessarily in the specifics, but rather in the general attitudes. The Soviet Union of 1962 looks a lot like the United States now, with different factions of our country wanting completely opposite things and determined not to budge an inch.
"Dear Comrades!" has a lean spareness to it that I liked. It feels like hardly a frame is wasted, and it's all captured in striking black and white.
Grade: A-
Great
Dear Comrades, Russia's official submission to the Oscars, is a great, powerful and heavy movie. The story is so beautiful, touching and nicely written with an important subject. Cinematography is stunning. Lead performance is superb. Dear Comrades is a deep very well made movie but it's not for everyone.