Monday, August 17, 2009

A hundred days after childhood

Phew, another feature-length movie! This one was a request, but I didn't mind doing it, because it's a pretty good film.

It's a teen drama, but it has lots of redeeming qualities. Firstly, the screenplay and the acting are top-notch, despite casting lots of teens. The plot, which involves a trifecta of a first love, an unrequited love and a love triangle, nonetheless manages to be original and engrossing -- and it only made me gag once. My only grudge is that the ending, while certainly being non-Hollywood, feels strained and unlikely, especially considering that it involves 14-year-olds.

Why would you want to watch this movie? Well, first of all, it's an interesting story. Second of all, it portrays the mainstream teen culture as it existed in the heyday of "Brezhnev's Stagnation." Or, rather, the teen culture the way the Soviet society wanted to pretend it was -- it certainly wasn't this sterile in real life. When Vershkov, the local boy, mentioned "rolling some bubble," I honestly expected that he was referring to chugging some vodka after work, and not at all playing football. However, despite trying to play "idealized teens," the characters managed to remain believable, and the feelings they portrayed came across as genuine.

One of the central story lines of the movie involves a play by M. Lermontov, who is considered to be one of the last poets from Russia's era of Romanticism. The play is "The Masquerade" and I couldn't find any English translations of it anywhere (perhaps I should write a Wikipedia article on it, now that I have finally read it.) The plot closely matches Shakespeare's Othello -- Arbenin, a haughty man of unyielding resolve, suspects that his wife Nina is cheating on him with Prince Zvezdich. In fact, it's all a misunderstanding, furthered by concerted efforts of Arbenin's acquaintances, who each have a different stake in seeing him lose affection for Nina. At the end, Arbenin is driven to put poison in Nina's ice-cream, who then "dies, but not at fault," in her own words. After her death, the truth of her innocence becomes apparent to Arbenin, and he loses his mind.

Yeah, in other words -- totally not a play you would be staging with a bunch of 14-year-olds, which is probably why we only see and hear small excerpts during rehearsals. Really, the plot of the play doesn't matter to the plot of the movie, and my haphazard description of it above should be sufficient.

Anyway, if you are a russophile, you will enjoy this movie. If you were a teen in Soviet mid-70's, it will probably make you feel nostalgic (not me, when I was 14 it was already 1990 -- a totally different era). If you are a teen, then this will probably be a good movie to watch with a girl who you would like to impress. ;)

Here's an excerpt:



Original title: Сто дней после детства
English title: A hundred days after childhood
Studio: Mosfilm
Duration: 88 minutes
Download media: arjlover.net
Download subtitles: mricon.com
Posted by at 12:31
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8 comments:

  1. Some SPOILERS in the comment below.

    I've just finished watching this thanks to your subs, Mr Icon.
    I have to say I had some great expectations for this movie, but they were met to a great extent. I mean, I knew nothing about the story (something I always try to do), but it sounded really good.

    I thought it was nicely shot all the way, especially the beautiful theater room. And, except for a few scenes, I also liked the acting very much. As you said, the children do seem to talk a bit too adultishly, but it's probably intended to be that way, and it fits well, even if the first scene with his friends description by the radio kid kind of spooked me!
    We barely listen to Lena speak, which could help to define her character better, but that was probably intended too, as to put us more on Lopukhin's side, where she is kind of unattainable (even if they seem pretty close when he's out of the infirmary. Was I the only one who thought at first, that her words were him dreaming?)
    Again, as you mentioned, the last talk seems too mature, but I liked this unusual approach.
    The movie gave me an overall feeling of formality, in the sense that it's not relaxed, à l'aise, no one really laughes out of place, they recite poems, they all quietly admire Mona Lisa, you know. In any mainstream movie at least a couple of kids would be throwing bits of paper. It's a bit like they are always posing. But in a good sense. Or maybe it's that film-dialogue. You know, how in the movies the characters always have that perfect dialogue, which normally spares the children, but seems come full-fledged in this film. Well, it does say "... After Childhood"
    Then there's also the scene with the kite... They all just stand there?

    Again, I liked it very much, nice story, beautiful imagery and it also looked to me as an original piece of art, one that has something new about it, some angle not previously explored.


    Once more Mr Icon, thank you very very much for making these subtitles! It was a great pleasure and a privilege to see this work.



    joaoKG
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  2. By the way, I first heard of this film on these lists, where it stands as one of the best 55 soviet and russian movies. One of the 30 best from 1958-1999, to be more exact.

    Kinoglaz.fr (a great tri-lingual site on russian cinema, by the way. Seems made for Russian(-speaker?) in Montreal. ;) )

    http://kinoglaz.fr/histoire_chefs_d_oeuvre_1.php
    http://kinoglaz.fr/histoire_chefs_d_oeuvre_2.php
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  3. Thanks for this. I've been wanting to watch this movie for quite some time, and today a new search sent me to your page.

    If you ever lack ideas on which film to sub, I suggest "SER", aka "СЭР (Свобода Это Рай)". That's another movie I'd be happy to watch, but the DVD has no subtitles. Thanks anyway.
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  4. Poisoned ice cream? What a way to go... Thank you so much for introducing me to this movie! I really enjoyed it, and probably would have even without the subtitles, it's so visually appealing (though I wouldn't have understood a word). My friend has taught me the Cyrillic alphabet, so I can sound words out, but not understand what they mean, and spoken Russian is beyond me. Thank you very much for the time and effort you put into this translation! And also for opening my eyes to the world of Russian cartoons.
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  5. Great subtitles for a super movie - thanks! I begin learning Russian, most of the dialogue in this film is quite slow and clear. But what does Lebedev say when riding the bike and Lopuhin asks him where he got it? 'Something' is the sub-title but there's more to it than that? Got me baffled there. And what is that silly song that Lebedev sings? Wish I knew the rest of it!
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  6. - Ты где велосипед взял?
    - В одном месте.
    - А куда ездил?
    - По одному делу.

    Literally, this is:

    - Where did you get the bike?
    - In one place. (meaning "in some place")
    - And where did you go?
    - To do one thing. (meaning "to do some thing")

    Hope this helps. Good luck!
    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh, and the song is here:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HByUfRMFKU

    It's by Polad Bülbüloğlu, a popular Azeri singer back in the 70s -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polad_B%C3%BClb%C3%BClo%C4%9Flu
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  8. Mr. Icon, you are an absolute star. Yes, that's it - I can 'hear' it now that you've given me the transcript. That's had me stumped for ages.

    The resourceful and enigmatic Lebedev is my favourite character in this movie - I like the way he talks - economical and almost poetic.

    I have over 80 Russian movies in my collection and this one ranks high. It has what most of my favourite Russian films have - a slow thoughtful pace, depth, beauty, and above all - atmosphere. I think this one is also quite good for anyone beginning to learn Russian, and that is only possible thanks to the sub-titles provided here.

    And yes, that's the song! I figured it must be a popular song from the time and I've been searching all over to find it. Well, you've made my day with this! Thank you so much.
    ReplyDelete

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