A MUSICAL STORY

New Zealand Listener, Volume 10, Issue 237, 7 January 1944, Page 19

A MUSICAL STORY

(Artkino)

HE story of this Soviet film is as naive as its title, but the music _ certainly isn’t. It is all grand opera-

mostly, but not entirely, by Russian composers-and the singing is remarkably good, though the synchronisation of voice and movement is occasionally not up to standard. Though the music is naturally the dominating factor, there are several other reasons why I found this one of the most interesting Russian films that I have yet come across. For one thing, the emphasis seems to be on entertainment rather than on propaganda: the producer doesn’t get up on a soap-~box and extol the glories of the Soviet way of life. But he does give us a glimpse of that way of life which up till now we have seldom seen on the screen. We see modern Russian men and women at work and at play, making love and making jokes. And on appearances, it looks to be a pretty good way of life; though, of course, that might simply

mean, after all, that the producer has been a more subtle propagandist than the average. Then again, as a background to the story (taxi driver ‘becomes famous singer and wins heroine ‘after: series of misunderstandings), there is a succession of extremely interesting character types; some of them may be exaggerated, but they do impress one as being far more real than the people encountered in most Hollywood productions.

SUVOROV

(Lenfilm)

OW that we are seeing a few Russian films, it is becoming possible to identify the players in them, not yet by

name, but by the parts which they have played in previous pictures. For instance, I immediately’ recognised the leading girl in A. Musical Story as having been the nurse-heroine of Natasha, while the ebullient singingmaster of the former film was easily identifiable later in the guise of the great General Suvorov. If this process continues, and MHollywood’s influence still remains strong,’ people may soon be wondering what Russian star is divorced from whom and_ whether People’s Artist Ilonya Pskov is a genuine platinum blonde or not. On the other hand, if the influence;of Soviet films increases with the supply of them, we shan’t be interested in any such things, for if there’s one thing the Russian film has no time for, it’s glamour in the Hollywood sense. In Suvorov, to take a case in point, there is no heroine; there’s hardly even a woman of any kind in sight anywhere. Only soldiers and battles, and forced marches, and one long and practically unbroken oration on the theme of "glory." For this is an account of the Russian general (late 18th century) who, we are repeatedly assured, never lost a battle. Yet while I have nothing but admiration for the vast spectacular sequences, the genuine "period" atmosphere, and the performances of the leading players, and have no complaints about the lack of glamour, I must confess I became increasingly restive as the propaganda wore on, and found myself wishing that Suvorov would suffer _ just one defeat so that they would have to vary the theme.