Skazanie o zemle Sibirskoj

As in many war veteran dramas the protagonist, a pianist from Moscow, hopes to be cured by living a simple life in seclusion. He moves to Siberia, where space abounds and jobs are plenty for uprooted people like him. As in the classic Western, which obviously inspired the film, nature and the wide open spaces provide room for different options and proving one’s worth. Upon successfully building a paper combine, he manages to overcome his trauma and return to his lover and to music. A film ranging between comedy and melodrama, it was a smashing box-office hit in 1947 as it precisely struck many Soviet citizens’ ambivalent mood, which swung between euphoria about victory and mourning about the losses. As early as in the 30’s, Ivan Pyr’ev had established the Soviet musical comedy, which combined the demands by the State and private happiness, as well as ancient Russian tradition and Soviet modernization, in a mix of lightness, a good sense of humour and romantic décor. Pyr’ev was held in great esteem by Stalin and received many awards. (Werner Michael Schwarz)