Ho vent'anni

In illustrating the freedom of the Thaw, I Am Twenty meanders along unconstrained, with little resolution, and seems more like a series of vignettes than a coherent story. The camera angles are almost always close-fitting and create a sense of claustrophobia; the frame is surrounded by corners. In the midst of a cultural shift towards a more free nation (in Western terms), there is still a feeling of being enclosed. This makes scenes in which the shot is open seem all the more freeing. For example, when Sergei walks empty city streets in the morning, the sky takes up half the frame. This scene feels fresh and relieving in comparison to the rest of the film. Increased consumerism is clear, as one friend of Sergei's says he has gotten used to consumerism "like crazy". American influences are everywhere: in the music, the advertisements, and the styles of young Muscovites; Russia's character is still very much present, however. St. Vasily's Cathedral is prominent in the background of shots, and it is the famous Russian Alexander Pushkin's "Autumn" that is read aloud over one scene. I Am Twenty is not just a portrait of 1960's Russia, it is specifically a portrait of young Russians, who were the first generation to really live outside of the events of the early Soviet Union and WWII. Khutsiev portrays them is as aimless, but not hopeless. The camera work that encloses them is meticulously constructed and light is smartly utilized in every frame to provide a bright picture, despite the enclosed nature of the shot. The focus seems more on the situational than the psychological, in comparison to Kalatazov's Cranes Are Flying or Tarkovsky's Ivan's Childhood. Overall, I Am Twenty provides a smart and accessible picture of Russian life, albeit a picture that meanders an hour or so too long.