Directed by Larisa Sheptiko and written by Valentin Yezhov and Natalya Ryazantseva, Wings is the story of a once heroic fighter pilot who copes with living an ordinary yet dreary life as a school headmistress. The film follows a woman trying to deal with the role she is living as well as the life she used to have. Starring Maya Bulgakova, Zhanna Bolotova, Pantelemion Krymov, Vladimir Gorelov, Yury Medvedev, and Nikolay Grabbe. Wings is a rapturous and evocative film from Larisa Sheptiko.
The film is a character study about a World War II pilot who was once seen as a hero as she copes with peacetime just 20 years after World War II where she is a school headmistress and a member of the city council. It is an exploration of different generations and the struggle for a woman to connect with not just her students but also her daughter who has gotten married. Much of it is told in a straightforward narrative with some flashbacks as the film’s screenplay follows the character of Nadezhda Petrukhina (Maya Bulgakova) who is trying to run a trade school that is in the middle of construction as she deals with the expulsion of a student at the school but also the new marriage of her daughter Tanya (Zhanna Bolotova) whom she hasn’t seen much as their relationship is quite strained. Especially as Nadezhda becomes miserable as she often thinks of her past where her life meant something.
Larisa Sheptiko’s direction is quite intoxicating to watch not just for some of the aerial scenes but also for much of the dramatic moments including the flashbacks. Shot in a city in the Soviet Union, Sheptiko does use some wide shots to establish some of the locations but prefers to aim for medium shots and close-ups to play into the intimacy that is Nadezhda’s story. The film follows Nadezhda in the way she works as she tries to run a school where she would fill in for an anguished student during a stage performance as well as deal with a student’s expulsion as she tries to get him to apologize to the girl he hit. Sheptiko’s direction is very restrained in the way it plays with Nadezhda’s frustrations with her life as the scenes involving Tanya show not just this tension but also a sadness as it play into some unresolved issues as well as Nadezhda’s own sense of loss dating back to the war. The film’s climax isn’t just about her making some decisions in her life but also reflecting on what she lost in the aftermath of war. Overall, Sheptiko creates a ravishing yet somber film about a war pilot dealing with the dreary life in peacetime.
Cinematographer Igor Slabnevich does brilliant work with the film’s black-and-white photography with its usage of soft lighting and textures to create a dream-like feel in some scenes with some unique lighting for the play scene. Editor L. Lysenkova does excellent work with the editing with its usage of jump-cuts as well as some stylish cuts to play into the drama. Art director Ivan Plastinkin does fantastic work with the look of the school as it is being constructed as well as Tanya’s apartment and a museum that Nadezhda visits late in the film. Costume designer A. Dokuchayeva does nice work with the costumes as it is mostly casual in its uniform look as well as the stage clothes worn for the play. The film’s music by Roman Ledenev is amazing for its somber orchestral score that play into the drama as well as the sense of loss and longing that Nadezhda has.
The film’s incredible cast feature some notable small roles from Nikolay Grabbe as the troubled student Kostya Shuvalov, Yury Medvedev as a teacher/administrator at the school, Vladimir Gorelov as Tanya’s much-older husband Igor, Leonid Dyachkov as Nadezhda’s lover Mitya from the flashbacks, and Pantelemion Krymov as Nadezhda’s current lover and professor Pavel Gavrilovich whom Nadezhda is in a loveless relationship with. Zhanna Bolotova is wonderful as Nadezhda’s daughter Tanya as a young woman trying to create her own life as she is reluctant to let her mother into her life as also gives some advice about Nadezhda’s unhappiness. Finally, there’s Maya Bulgakova in a phenomenal performance as Nadezhda Petrukhina as a woman who was revered as a World War II fighter pilot who copes with the role she is in during peacetime as she tries to move on and deal with life as a school headmistress as she yearns for her youth and to feel that moment where she mattered as it’s a performance filled with radiance and elegance.
Wings is a tremendous film from Larisa Sheptiko. Featuring a mesmerizing performance from Maya Bulgakova as well as gorgeous images and captivating themes of identity and youth. It’s a film that is just ravishing to watch as well as providing a unique character story into a woman unsatisfied with the way her life has turned out and the need to do something about it. In the end, Wings is an outstanding film from Larisa Sheptiko.
Larisa Sheptiko Films: (13 PM) - (You and I (1971 film) - The Ascent
© thevoid99 2017
Based on the novel Sotnikov by Vasil Bykaw, Voskhozhdeniye (The Ascent) is the story of two peasant soldiers who both trek through the cold woods of Belarus seeking refuge as they’re cut off from their fellow soldiers. Directed by Larisa Shepitko and screenplay by Shepitko and Yuri Klepikov, the film is an exploration into the study of war and its fallacies during one of the darkest periods in World War II for the Soviet Union. Starring Boris Plotnikov, Vladimir Gostyukhin, Sergei Yakovlev, Lyudmila Polyakova, Victoria Goldentul, Anatoly Solonitsyn, and Nikolay Sektimenko. Voskhozhdeniye is an entrancing yet haunting film from Larisa Shepitko.
Set in early 1940s during World War II, two Soviet soldiers find themselves lost in the cold and snowy woods of Belarus in an attempt to get food and supplies for their unit where things go wrong as they later encounter German soldiers and a woman with three children. It’s a film that plays into the world of survival during war as two men are dealing with the situation they’re in where it’s not just in the snowy woods and cold winters they had to deal with but also German soldiers looming where an encounter with them would be troubling. The film’s screenplay would explore exactly what soldiers were going through in that time where Sotnikov (Boris Plotnikov) and Rybak (Vladimir Gostyukhin) were ordered by their platoon leader to find food for the soldiers and villagers that had joined them.
Instead, things go wrong as the film’s first half is about them lost in the woods as it’s second half is a much starker film where they meet a woman with three children as an encounter with German soldiers would lead to trouble. Especially as Sotnikov is wounded as he would later be interrogated in the most brutal manner as it plays into a sense of what men will do to survive. Even in the third act as it relates to the actions of those who are trying to save themselves but with some dire consequence for others as it plays into betrayal and desperation.
Larisa Shepitko’s direction is truly intoxicating to watch in its approach to imagery and composition. Shot on location in Vladimir Oblast in Russia, the film is shot during a cold winter where Shepitko would make these locations part of the story as it adds to this sense of unforgiving climate these soldiers are enduring as well as the fact Germans are patrolling in the area. Shepitko’s approach to medium shots and close-ups are among some of the most evocative moments in the film where she would frame everything to play into not just the chilling atmosphere of war but also to play into men who are trying to see if they can survive with honor as there’s a spiritual element to the story.
There are also moments that are very chilling such as a scene of Sotnikov and Rybak hiding at an attic from Germans where Rybak would look into what he could but do also see its drawbacks. Especially in the third act where decisions are made but also play into this air of death where people are watching as it also would contain spiritual elements in a world where faith is frowned upon in those times. Overall, Shepitko creates an astonishing yet ravishing film about two men trying to survive during World War II.
Cinematographers Vladimir Chukhnov and Pavel Lebeshev do amazing work with the film‘s black-and-white cinematography as it has a dream-like quality to some of the images as many of the exterior shots in the snow are gorgeous in its imagery as well as the interior scenes where the usage of black and dark lights play into the unsettling atmosphere of the locations. Editor Valeriya Belova does fantastic work in the editing to create some stylish cuts including some unique rhythms in some reaction shots and eerie moments that play into the suspense.
Art director Yuri Raksha does terrific work with the design of the ruined farms and homes of some of the smaller characters including the town where the Germans have occupied the place. The sound work of Yan Pototsky is superb for the atmosphere it creates in the locations as well as some eerie moments in the interrogation scene. The film’s music by Alfred Schnittke is brilliant for its usage of orchestral music that is very low-key yet occurs in moments that add to this sense of spirituality that looms on its characters.
The film’s phenomenal cast includes some notable small roles from Nikolay Sektimenko as a Soviet officer earlier in the film, Sergei Yakovlev as a village elder, Mariya Vinogradova as the elder’s wife, Victoria Goldentul as a young village girl who is captured by the Germans, and Lyudmila Polyakova as a village woman with three children who gets in trouble with the Germans. Anatoly Solonitsyn is brilliant as a Soviet interrogator working with the Germans who torment Sotnikov during the interrogation scene. Vladimir Gostyukhin is amazing as the soldier Rybak as a man who is more experienced in fighting as he copes with the harsh conditions as well as the need to survive as he tries to figure out every scenario that could kill him. Finally, there’s Boris Plotnikov in a remarkable performance as Sotnikov as an intellectual who tries to maintain his principles as he gets wounded and later tortured where as it’s a very haunting yet mesmerizing performance from the actor.
Voskhozhdeniye is a tremendous film from Larisa Shepitko. Not only is it a compelling war film that doesn’t play by the rules but it’s also an intriguing film of spirituality and survival. Especially as it plays into the Soviet’s perspective in their war against Germany in World War II which showed some of the darkest moments of inhumanity. In the end, Voskhozhdeniye is an outstanding film from Larisa Shepitko.
Larisa Shepitko Films: Wings (1966 film) - (13 PM) - (You and I (1971 film))
© thevoid99 2015
