Distinguished filmmaker Yuli Raizman's career stretched from the early days of silent film, the Stalin years , "the thaw" continuing to the generation of perestroika of the 1980s. Stalin's death in 1953 opened new opportunities to further develop films with a probing social conscience, "The Communist," was inspired by and made to mark the 40th anniversary of the October Revolution. Yuli Raizman's multi layered revisionist treatment of the traditional subject gives a fabulous historical insight of the tumultuous era. The story tells of the formation of large scale work parties assigned to build power infrastructure to generate progress and move the Motherland forward. It is a touching human drama, a rousing embrace of the values & ideals of those early revolutionists. The tremendous scale of this excellent production is evident from the opening moments, it is a beautifully composed dynamic work of Soviet cinematic art. Excellent performances portray with great feeling the struggles, ambitions and dreams of the common folk. There are also some wonderfully touching romantic moments just as in his earlier film Mashenka (42). Having a much broader dimension than for example the frivolity of "Tractor Drivers" from the late 30s, the altruistic heroes here are to be admired. Socialist propaganda? ...work hard contribute to your community, your country . A must see for anyone interested in Classic Soviet era filmmaking Highly Recommended !!
