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The Cherry Orchard (1999)
Staged Film
In his adaption of Anton Chekhov's play, The Cherry Orchard, Mihalis Kakogiannis shows a great deal of respect for the 19th century Russian play. In fact, Mihalis shows so much respect for it that he tried to have the film flow and seem very much like a play. Although the technique is an interesting way of trying to adapt a play to film, it ultimately leaves the audience wishing for less of a boisterous staged feel and more of a subtle real life feeling that film can so wonderfully produce. To Mihalis' misfortune the over animated and often over dramatized characters do more to take the audience out of the film than it does to push them into the story. Although the staged feel to The Cherry Orchard does make the film seem to drag on without the interest one would find in a lifelike representation of the events, there is several very significant themes that are important to Russian history that come across very nicely in the film.
One of the most interesting aspects of The Cherry Orchard is the way that we see the very different reactions to the emancipation of the serfs. If we look at the two "main" characters of the film, Madame Ranevskaya and Gayev, we see two people that are having a very hard time adjusting to the realities of the serfs being freed. They're not only in constant denial of the economic state of their estate but they are also oblivious to the possibility that former serfs are gaining both power and respect. If we look at how the film expresses the Raznichintzhe class, we see two different expressions. First we see Lopakhin that represents the emerging merchant class in Russian. Although Lopakhin was a former slave, by the end of the film we see that he wields the most respect and power through the active and hard work that he has done as a free citizen. Now on the other hand, Trofimov represents the Intelligentsia class that is emerging towards the later part of the 19th century. His nickname as the perpetual student gives away that he is not about working and doing business in a capitalist society, instead he talks of enacting greater change to help the uneducated freed serf class that now has a ton of freedom and not a whole lot to do with it. Now as Lopakhin showed one of the possibilities for freed serfs Firs showed another. Firs represents a relic of the past, a serf that was more content with being a serf and serving than being forgotten and left behind in the new society. Which is exactly what happens to firs at the end of the movie. Just like Firs, older serfs that could not enjoy the full expanse of their newfound freedom were in a way left behind by society. Although as a movie I believe that The Cherry Orchard could have been a little more intriguing had the director strayed further way from the play format, there are still many interesting aspects to the film that make it a enjoyable piece of Russian oriented cinema. Definitely, worth the watch if you have any interest in Russian life towards the end of the 19th century.
Zhestokiy romans (1984)
Gender Inequality In 19th Century Russia
Film Review: Cruel Romance Cruel Romance is a 1984 Classic Russian film made in the final years of Soviet Russia. The film stars Larisa Guzeeva as Larisa and Nikita Mikhalkov as Paratov. Larisa is a 19th century noble women that is stuck in the difficult position of trying to pick a suitor that she love while in a society where love a marriage are inextricable linked to one's wealth and the amount of social and capital gain that can be had from arranged marriages.
Overall, Cruel Romance is a very enjoyable representation of Russia as it is engulfed in a cultural, social and political flux. We see the influence and variety of the growing middle class, also known as raznochintsy, in Russia as the nobles are making attempts to keep their societal position. Although Cruel Romance ends in despair, we are shown a very detailed and complicated picture of the gender roles, and the rights that accompanied those roles, within Russia during this tumultuous in Russia's history. The film does waver on the side of over dramatic at times; however, the quality of the cinematography and editing overshadows much of the rather corny moments in the film.
There are several themes that Cruel Romance seems to repeatedly emphasize throughout the film. One of the subtler, yet consistently emphasized themes throughout the film, is the presentation of women, particularly Larisa, as objects instead of people. Although many would say that this theme is not subtle at all, due to the fact that almost every man that is presented in the film in some way or another tries to purchase the rights to Larisa, there are other aspects of the film that would suggest that women are property to be owned and not people to be won over by love and affection. An aspect that presents this idea, while being largely unannounced, is the fact that we are constantly seeing Larisa through glass. Although some may see this as simple necessity due to space constrictions, in actuality it is meant to have us see Larisa as if she were an item displayed in a shop window. This aspect is finally emphasized in the final moments as we see Larisa sliding across the front of the boat looking at each of her would be buyers through the class, each recognizing her as an item, which cannot be bought.
Of coarse, the problem of gender inequality is not a problem that is secular to Russia nor is it a fictional issue. Although it was much worse in the 19th century, gender inequality is still a major issue today. However, Cruel Romance focuses on primarily arranged marriages and the role that a woman or man's dowry played in those marriages. This of coarse was a very real issue in Russia during the 19th century. With the rising raznochintsy class in Russia, we saw a whole new wave of suitors that depended entirely on their economic value due to the fact that they had no official title. This is displayed very well throughout the movie as Larisa is torn between suitors. An almost comical assembly of these suitors is scene towards the end at Larisa's fiancé's dinner party. Overall, I would say if you enjoy tragic romances and would like an interesting look into another culture of the 19th century than Cruel Romance is for you.