Revolyutsioner

Evgenii Bauer, at the end of his brief career had reached such level of intensity, precision in the "mise en scene", that every frame of this moving film is a masterpiece. Because Bauer seems a director from the 30's or 40's that one day decided to do again that old silent movies in which images revealed a passion and some kind of mystery unknown in the films made by his contemporaries. 25 or maybe 35 years of evolution of cinema are contained in only five years, since his early works to this jewel (and "For luck" or "A life for a life"), great achievements of one the three best directors of the decade, along with Louis Feuillade and perhaps Demille

Ivane Perestiani is seized by the police. Despite the efforts of his brother, he is sentenced to Siberia, where it is always snowy. He spends his days trying to keep warm at the fire of twigs, and reading the scrawled statements of defiance left by those who have gone before. Then comes the February Revolution. He is freed! He returns home to his family, and all is joyous.... until the question of whether Russia should continue to fight in the war comes up. He is in favor of it. His son is not.

This was the hot button debate of the government in this period, after the Tsar was kicked out and the Duma was split among various parties. Eventually Kerensky's government fell because he kept Russia in the War -- at least that was the standard interpretation back when I was studying the era in college. Opinions have probably changed in the last half century. Questions of politics -- and whether the soldiers' deaths served any real purpose -- aside, Yevgeni Bauer's movie is definitely on the side of the revolutionaries, and all in favor of loving families. Perestiani gives a strong performance.

As a movie, this is only a fair effort, at least by Yevgeni Bauer's high standards. But as a piece of history, it is quite interesting. It is one of a very few significant cultural works that survive from the period between the two revolutions in Russia in 1917, since it was made after the Tsar was overthrown in February, but before the Provisional Government was itself overthrown by the Bolsheviks in the fall. Moreover, its perspective and story are clearly drawn from the way that things stood in the days of the Provisional Government.

The story itself centers on the character of "The Revolutionary", known only as 'Granddad'. Exiled to Siberia by the Tsarist police, he returns when the Tsarist government is overthrown, and he immediately throws himself right into the questions of the day. Of particular importance (in the movie and at the time) is the question of whether Russia should continue to fight the war against Germany and Austria-Hungary.

It's really an interesting setup in itself, but Bauer is uncharacteristically formulaic in crafting and in telling the story. The first half or so works well enough, but then it becomes too simplistic, even predictable. Because Bauer's melodramas about psychological obsessions and doomed relationships are so deep and haunting, it's possible that his other movies just create expectations for this one that are too high. If it had been made by a less exceptional film-maker, it might not be such a disappointment.

As it is, there are still some very good Bauer touches. Many of the compositions are nicely conceived, and there are effective moments, such as 'Granddad' reading graffiti on the prison wall, or two engaging little dogs playing in the snow while 'Granddad' comforts a dying convict.

It is as a piece of history, though, that this is most worth seeing. Bauer's views about the decisions facing Russia come across very clearly, and his portrayal of Russia under the Provisional Government, while obviously based on his own beliefs, is still one of the very few such contemporary records, fictional or otherwise. So despite its faults as a movie, "The Revolutionary" is still interesting, as a product of a very unusual time and place in history.