The Commissar (Komissar)

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walter m "The Commissar" is set during the Russian Civil War as Communist troops are setting up shop in a village. Amongst them, Klavdia(Nonna Mordyukova), a commissar, is very, very pregnant. After long periods in combat and on horseback, she was so occupied that by the time she saw a doctor, she was so advanced that one would not perform an abortion and no amount of iodine could do away with it, so her commanding officer(Vasili Shukshin) moves her away from her comrades, housing her with a large Jewish family. At first Yefim(Rolan Bykov) is indignant but once Klavdia's condition becomes clear, his wife Maria(Raisa Nedashkovskaya) does her best to help her. While eschewing a neorealistic approach by going against the grain with a nontraditional musical score and striking imagery, "The Commissar" is also a powerful look at the role of women in combat. Klavdia sees herself as a soldier first which is in conflict with the need to care for her child.(In "Farscape," female Peacekeepers could control their pregnancies to such a degree that they could give birth quickly with hardly a break before returning to the battlefield.) In America, she would be accused of giving in to her ambitions but then that's capitalism for you. In a socialist state, as imperfect as it is, the need comes from being part of a struggle larger than yourself that a flashforward gives an even greater urgency to. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Made in 1967, this movie was not finished and released until 1988, in Finland to boot. Set in the 19020s, the main character, the only female officer in her Red Army unit, finds herself pregnant and thus dumped by her unit to stay with a Jewish family. Her memories and visions are quite disturbing, the games of the children are also quite troubling. The movie is difficult to follow (when one selects English, one does not get subtitles but a Russian translator who speaks over the Russian dialogue with a heavy Russian accent, making this movie quite the listening experience) but worth watching, and even if it is just for the scene where she drinks tea, the birthing scene, and the dance scenes. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member The fake pogrom scene was particularly moving, but overall I think this film was tugging a little too hard at our heart strings, and while I appreciate what a bold move that was in 1967 in the USSR, now it just feels dated. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Audience Member "Komissar" (filmed in1967, shelved upon completion by the party and released 21 years later in the glasnost era) is an example of suffocated artistic expression when the message didn't go along the party lines. The director (fired and expelled from the party) paid dearly for his convictions and his courage - he would never direct again. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member WEB. Me likey mucho, yes yes. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Very surreal and artistic. Not a typical Soviet film. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Commissar (Komissar)

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