Commissar (1967)

Original title

Комиссар

Directed by

Aleksandr Askoldov

Genre

drama film, war film

Country

Soviet Union

Runtime

1h 50m

Rated

U

Rating

6.4 of 10 from 40 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

During the Russian Civil War, a female commissar becomes pregnant and is forced to stay with a poor Jewish family. The film follows her struggle between her military duty and her new maternal responsibilities.

bleakearnestslow-burnintrospectivevisceralhumanisticsomberunflinching

What happens

Commissar is a 1967 Soviet film directed by Aleksandr Askoldov. The film stars Nonna Mordyukova as Klavdiya Vavilova, a commissar in the Russian Civil War who falls pregnant and is made to live with the family of a poor Jewish blacksmith (Rolan Bykov). Commissar was the first and only film made by Askoldov. He based the film on In the Town of Berdychev, a short story by Vasily Grossman, as well as Isaac Babel's story cycle Red Cavalry. Upon its release, it was banned for 20 years, and only released fully in 1988. It won several awards. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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