Tamara Nosova Movies

Love, patriotism, and betrayal are the themes of this Soviet war drama. Aleksei (Yevgeni Urbansky) is a test pilot with the Russian Air Force during World War II. He meets a woman named Sasha (Nina Drobysheva), and they immediately fall in love. Sasha becomes pregnant, but she doesn't realize it until after Aleksei has been sent back into active duty. While flying a mission over Germany, Aleksei's plane is lost and he is believed dead; he posthumously receives a hero's commendations, and a distraught Sasha refuses to marry another man, preferring to raise her child on her own and live with her memories of the man she loved. But after the end of the war, it is discovered that Aleksei was actually alive and an inmate of a German P.O.W. camp; the Soviet government strips him of his honors, convinced that he surrendered to the Germans and collaborated with the enemy. Aleksei's Communist party membership is also revoked, and he is no longer able to work as a pilot. He sinks into a deep depression and develops a drinking problem, and it's not until the death of Joseph Stalin that the political abuses against Aleksei begin to subside. This film was produced during a brief time in the Khrushchev administration when criticism of the abuse of power under Stalin's leadership was accepted; within two years, Brezhnev had risen to power and this sort of commentary would once again be forbidden. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Soviet filmmaker Yuri Raisman once more combines political dogma with solid entertainment values in Dream of a Cossack (aka Cavalier of the Golden Star). The title character, played by future director Sergei Bondarchuk (and billed for obscure reasons as Semyon Bondarchuk), is an ex-soldier who returns home to the Kuban region, there to take up life as a farmer. Instead, he galvanizes the local citizenry into participating in a massive construction project, which will result in a new power station and canal. Thus does Raisman offer an prime example of Russian collectivism while making it seem as though it had sprung from individual initiative. Dream of a Cossack is based on a popular novel by S. Babayefsky. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In 1949, distinguished Soviet filmmaker Sergei Gerasimov made a visit to New York City, where he railed against the immoralities of Hollywood movies. Be that as it may, Gerasimov's The Young Guard managed to secure bookings in Manhattan. Based on a best-selling novel by Alexander Fadeyev, the film stars Vladimir Ivanov as Oleg Koshevol, a Russian teenager who nobly serves his mother-country during WW II. With the help of his friends, Oleg successfully sabotages Nazi installations and encampments -- over and over again. Originally released in two parts, The Young Guard was pared down to a single 135-minute release for American consumption. In its original from, the film was honored with a State Prize in the USSR. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Shy clerk Vitsin concocts daydreams about becoming a general, a czar or a great lover and meeting a beautiful woman in this comedy. When he does finally marry a large, old, rich woman he realizes his dreams may never come true. ~ Rovi