Klara Luchko Movies

Slowly but surely, a few Russian films trickled into America despite the "Red Scare" of the 1950s. Cossacks of the Kuban has no message, unless the message is that it's okay to laugh out loud once in a while. Marina Ladynina plays Galina, the female owner of a Siberian horse farm. Her principal rival in the horse-breeding business is ex-Cossack Gordei (Sergei Luklanov). The two settle their differences with a climactic hurdle race--and in so doing, they fall in love, Hollywood-style. The musical interludes may seem strident to those not familiar with Soviet films, but the comedy content saves the day. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Originally titled Vozvrachenia Vassilya Bortnikov, Vassili's Return was the last directorial effort by the great V.I. Pudovkin, who died in June of 1953. Like many of Pudovkin's later works, the film was diluted by interference from communist party officials; what remains, however, is well worth having, if miles removed from the brilliance of his earlier Mother, End of St. Petersburg and Storm over Asia. Based on a novel by G. Nikolayeva, the story centers upon a Russian named Vassili (Serge Lukynaov), who leaves his wife to do battle against the Germans in WW II. When Vassili is reported to have been killed in battle, his wife Avodtya (Natalya Medvedeva) marries another man. Per the film's title, Vassili returns, only to find his wife ostensibly out of his reach. Vassili and his former spouse eventually reunite as friends if not lovers, working side by side on a state-approved collective farm. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Twelfth Night is a Russian adaptation of Shakespeare's confused-identity comedy. Since the story, about a young girl (Klara Luchko) disguised as a boy in order to facilitate her search for her twin brother, is set in the mythical land of Illyria, most stagings of the play avoid the Elizabethan trappings of Shakespeare's time. Conversely, this Twelfth Night is firmly planted in the 16th century, and thus looks as though it was staged by librarians rather than filmmakers. Director Yakov Fried has severely cut the original text, with the pompous Malvolio, usually a "star turn," ending up a virtual walk-on. The best aspect of Twelfth Night is its extensive use of exteriors, breathing occasional life into an other stagebound effort. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this Russian war drama, set in the latter half of WW II, a postal worker's devoted fiancee patiently waits in her post office for the war to end. While she waits, she does all she can to help defeat the Nazis. Sometimes she works on a newspaper. When the post office is temporarily used as a hospital, she works as a nurse. Her hard work earns her a medal. Eventually she and her lover are happily reunited. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi