Ovod

Ethel Voynich wrote her novel 'The Gadfly' in 1897. Set during the Risorgimento it failed ironically to make much of an impact in Italy but owing to its revolutionary ideology scored a massive triumph in Russia and China. The film under review comes from the Golden Age of Soviet Cinema which followed the death of Stalin. Adapted by the talented Victor Shklovsky and directed by Alekandr Faintsimmer it boasts stunning cinematography by Ivan Moskvin. The magnificent score by Shostakovich has proved extremely popular in its own right and the Romance is a perennial favourite on Classic FM! The romantic element of the film has been modified somewhat to accommodate that of the revolutionary but this does not make it any less entertaining. Oleg Strizhenov and his wife Marina are effective and Oleg would go on to star the following year in 'The Forty First' for Chukrai. Nicolai Simonov is stupendous as the Cardinal. Stirring stuff.

Ethel Lillian Voynich Boole is the author of the novel "Gadfly" which was enormously popular in the Soviet Union. The Russians even named a crater of the Venus planet after it.

The novel set in Italy in the 1800's, which was a time of revolt and uprisings and features the hero as a mysterious satirist who is only known by his pseudonym Gadfly. At once a romance, tragedy and heroic story, it's got passionate characters, dark secrets, betrayal and atonement, and expertly incorporates them into the author's controversial theme - the criticism of the church.

The movie was a great success, partly due to the charisma of young Oleg Strizenov in his screen debut. He was very convincing as romantic and tragic Arthur as he moves from being a theological student with Padre Montanelli (his father figure - powerful performance by Nikolai Simonov) to the life of a satirist, revolutionary, and great enemy of the church. The best Soviet actors played in the movie; the novel was adapted into the screenplay by very famous (and deservingly so) writer, Victor Shklovsky. But the real treasure of the film is the music written by Dmitry Shostakovich. He composed an orchestral suite for The Gadfly. It's been a long time since I saw "Ovod" but I still remember it fondly as a very good film with a brilliant soundtrack.

No matter what kind of stand you take to the subject and the story, no matter what you may think of its political arguments, you have to admit that this is a bloody good story and made extremely well on film. It was the main actor's first film (Oleg Strizhenov), his wife plays the leading lady, and the cardinal (Nicolai Simonov) completes a splendid cast, where all the other actors as well add to the unforgettable qualities of this film, which is both extremely dramatic, human, romantic and pathetic. The music score has received timeless acclaim, and what a marvellous idea to use Bach's final chorus of the great B minor mass for the cathedral scene! It's important to remember, that Ethel Voynich, the author, was Irish and Catholic, and the main subject of the story is the protagonist's conflict with the church, due a betrayal of the seal of confession - you couldn't commit a worse crime in the Catholic church as a priest than to break the holy obligation of silence of the confession. This is what the protagonsit is subject to, which leads to his lifelong hopeless revolutionary activity with intentional self-destruction. The film does not engage much in this discussion, it is more superficial in that aspect, which is compenated by its terrific cinematographical beauty and the superb acting. In brief, it's a great film on a great story.