Beanpole

This film set in post-war USSR is beautifully shot and superbly acted. Every scene is a work of art that reglects the melancholic mood of that generation. Not a light watch, but extremely rewarding.

You could expect a 1945 Leningrad setting to be joyful after the Russian victory over Nazis, but writer/director Kantemir has caught the downside in Beanpole. It's a deeply moving, complicated story about two former soldiers who tackle the melancholy and desperation of victors with no spoils---just ruined buildings and crushed hopes.

This melancholy drama centers on two women: Iva (Viktoria Miroshnicenk) and Masha (Vasilisa Perelygina), who attempt to bring meaning to their lives after the devastation. Mostly it's about Masha's attempt to have a life within her, mainly a baby. Her first baby died at the hands of Iva, who now owes Masha a baby.

Through a series of lengthy scenes and shots (sometimes they are too long), the audience is drawn into the emotional needs of the protagonists set against the needs of the other Leningrad citizens to gain happiness and hope after a ravaging war. The scenes between Iva and Masha are lovingly and deeply felt as Masha navigates getting a replacement baby and Iva resists the machinations to do so.

Given the wide scope of WWII, Beanpole is a small-scale drama, whose intensity comes from the characters rather than the setting. Love is the operative word, married to hope to make a satisfying character study in a drawn-out drama of human longing, regardless of the time period.

A fascinating slow burn that is as exhilarating as it is difficult at times to watch.

"Beanpole" is actually a good movie to be watching during the 2020 COVID pandemic, as it's a reminder to a whole population of people who've never experienced any significant hardship how much worse things could be. Watch a movie about post WWII Russia and then ask yourself how big a deal it is that Trader Joe's was out of your favorite brand of crackers again.

The towering actress Viktoria Miroshnichenko, as the film's title character, and Vasilisa Perelygina, as her friend who's recently returned from the front, give amazing performances navigating exceptionally difficult material. This is one of those movies that would be off putting if the direction and acting didn't strike just the right tone. It's one of those movies about which people say "I didn't like any of the characters" as a way to dismiss the whole thing. But, like the best character studies, "Beanpole" doesn't care whether or not you like anyone in it. It instead asks you to live with the characters for awhile and see if you can empathize with them, and understand their choices based on the circumstances in which they find themselves.

And, directing and acting aside, the film looks beautiful. For a film set in such a drab time and setting, it uses saturated colors, especially green and red, to tie images visually to the mental states of the characters.

The movie year still has a way to go, but I imagine this one will make my own personal shortlist of favorites.

Grade: A

This movie is an intense and thoughtful exploration of relationships between survivors of war. The desire to find meaning and love and connection drive people to do beautiful and desperate things, and in the end to find either peace or conflict within depending on what they can accept and create within their minds. Beautifully acted.

The Russian film Dylda was shown in the U.S. with the translated title Bean Pole (2019). It was co-written and directed by Kantemir Balagov

The movie is set in Leningrad right after World War II. Viktoria Miroshnichenko plays Iya, who has suffered brain damage in combat during the war. She has been discharged, and now works as a nurse or attendant at a hospital for wounded soldiers. (She is, indeed, a head taller than the other women, and very slender, so that's why she's called Bean Pole.)

She is joined at the hospital by her wartime friend, Masha, portrayed by Vasilisa Perelygina. Masha, who was also wounded, stayed in combat until the war ended. When we first see her, she's still wearing her army uniform.

The film was very grim, as it focused on the wounded men in the hospital, and the physical and emotional problems of the two women. I was surprised that there was very little anti-Stalinist material. In the movie, the government recognizes the sacrifices that the people have made, and appears to be doing its best to help. I don't know whether this reflects the reality of the time or not.

This is a complex film, because it portrays two very different women, each of whom has suffered terribly, and both of whom are trying to bring some normalcy into their lives.

As far as I can remember, there were only a few moments where anyone smiled in the movie. Those were hard times, and people were glum and depressed.

However, the film is so well constructed, and so well acted, that it's worth seeking out and watching. We saw Dylda at Rochester's excellent Little Theatre. However, it should work well enough on the small screen. The film has a solid IMDb rating of 7.2. I think it's even better than that.