Rina Zelenaya Movies
- 1931
Coming as it does from the depths of the Stalinist regime, the Russian Road to Life is a remarkably optimistic film. A host of nonprofessional children are cast as Moscow street kids, left homeless by the Bolshevik revolution. They get into all sorts of melodramatic scrapes until they're rounded up by kindly, altruistic Soviet functionaries. The children are reformed (in the nicest possible way) and made useful members of society. Road to Life is simplistic in its solutions to society's problems, albeit no more so than the usual Hollywood product from the same period. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mikhail Zharov, Nikolai Batalov, (more)
- 1935
Oppressed women stand together against their enemies in this historical drama from the Soviet Union. In 1919, a group of Ukrainian women are left to fend for themselves when their husbands go away to fight the White Russian forces. Enemy factions soon seize the village, and the women are put to work in a mine performing back-breaking labor. When the occupation troops are forced to flee the village, they hastily decide to destroy the mine, but the women band together to stop them. With the exception of leading lady Emma Tsesarskaya, the women in the film are actual Ukrainian peasants who had not acted professionally before. Lyubov I Nenavist received only a limited release in 1935, as Soviet authorities felt the characters were not heroic enough, but it was well-received in its screening at a retrospective of Soviet films presented at the 2000 Locarno Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emma Tsesarskaya, Alexander Chistyakov, (more)
- 1940
Only in a Soviet propaganda film like Tanya (aka The Bright Road) would it be suggested that hard work and utter devotion to the State would make a homely girl attractive! The story takes place in a small Russian textile-manufacturing town, when illiterate kitchen slavey Tanya Morozova (Lyubov Orlova) takes a factory job. She does so well in this capacity that she is ultimately awarded the Lenin Medal for developing a faster and more efficient weaving method. In addition, she transforms from ugly duckling to gorgeous swan, much to the delight of nominal male lead Alexei. Chalk up another box-office winner from the talented husband-wife team of director Grigori Alexandrov and star Lyubov Orlova. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lyubov Orlova, Yevgeny Samoylov, (more)
- 1947
Heavily influenced by Hollywood musicals, the Soviet tunefest Spring won several awards for its director, the prolific Grigory Alexandrov. Not surprisingly, the leading role went directly to Alexandrov's wife, popular film personality Lyubov Orlova. Actually, Orlova essays the leading roles, since the story is a mistaken-identity affair involving a female scientist named Irina and her lookalike, a Bolshoi dancer named Vera. When a Russian film studio announces plans to film Irina's life story, Vera is chosen to play the role, leading to a wacky comedy of errors. Though unimpressed by Spring, American reviewers were at least grateful that the film wasn't a podium for Communist ideology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lyubov Orlova, Nikolai Cherkasov, (more)
- 1954
Though the headliners in Variety Stars were virtual unknowns in America, each and every one was a favorite in the Soviet Union. Essentially, this is a filmed record of a musical revue, staged at the Russo Variety Hall. The big-money acts range from a ballet troupe to a professional whistler (!) To add a bit of continuity, a fragmentary plot involving a pair of comedians who strive mightily to win a spot in the revue weaves in and out of the proceedings. Variety Stars was directed by Vera Stroyeva (Grand Concert), the actress-wife of filmmaker Grigori Roshal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yuri Timoshenko, Efim Berezin, (more)
In a case of classic body-switching, a group of sorcerers appear in a modern-day small town and trade bodies with four schoolmates to live life as if they were young again in the children's fantasy A Tale of Time Lost. While the magical evildoers head off to school and wreak havoc in their young bodies, the now aged kids retreat to a decrepit house where they hatch their plan of revenge. With time running out, the kids have only one chance to reverse the effects of time before they are stranded in these bodies forever. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Grisha Plotkin, Oleg Anofriev, (more)
