Film Review: Volga-Volga (1938)
It never hurts for a filmmaker to enjoy the favour of people at the top level of government. During the Great Purge in the Soviet Union it was not only a matter of career advancement but actually a matter of physical survival. One of those fortunates was Grigori Aleksandrov, whose 1938 musical comedy Volga-Volga is known as Stalin’s favourite film.
The plot begins in Melkovodsk, a fictional small town somewhere in the Urals, which is run by Ivan Ivanovich Byvalov (played by Ivan Ilynsky), manager of the local handicraft factory and a pompous bureaucrat who eagerly awaits a telegram about his promotion and transfer to Moscow. Such telegrams are handed by the local letter carrier Dunya “Strelka” (“Arrow”) Petrova (played by Lyubov Orlova), who is in a romantic relationship with Alyosha Trubishkin (played by Andrey Tutyshkin), a member of the local music orchestra. Byvalov receives the telegram but it, instead of a promotion, asks for local talents for the “Music Olympics” that are to be held in Moscow. Byvalov is at first sceptical, but changes his mind when he realises that he could make the trip to Moscow as the “supervisor” of the talent. He, however, insists that only Alyosha’s orchestra, specialised in “proper” classical music, boards the paddle-wheel steamer for Moscow. Dunya, who, with her friends, specialises in playing folk music, is left behind, but instead decides to board another boat and take part in the competition. During the ensuing boat race on the River Volga, Dunya composes a new song dedicated to the river, unaware that it would become a great hit among the Soviet masses.
Like Jolly Fellows and Circus, two previous musical comedies by Grigori Aleksandrov, Volga-Volga was very popular, which is often explained by providing the Soviet audience with feather-light escapist entertainment. And in the very dark time the film was made, there was even more need for escapism. Production was under the large, menacing shadow of the ongoing Great Purge, and even some of the crew members became its victims, like assistant cinematographer Vladimir Nilsen, who was arrested and summarily executed shortly before the film’s premiere. But this didn’t reflect on the content of the film, which shows the Soviet Union as a place of happy, relaxed workers and peasants who live simple, fulfilling lives and, regardless of their profession (whether they are postmen, accountants, lumberjacks, waiters, cooks, or even policemen), have the time and inclination to pursue their artistic ambitions and can even indulge in friendly rivalries.
Although burdened by the dogmas of Socialist Realism, the Soviet official art doctrine, Aleksandrov, who originally got inspiration for the film from his friend Charlie Chaplin during a tour in the USA a few years earlier, allowed himself a little experimentation. This is best seen in the opening titles, which are partly shown on screen and partly sung, as well as the end credits when the cast breaks the fourth wall. There is plenty of physical humour in the film, obviously inspired by the slapstick works of Hollywood’s silent era. The music, composed by Isaak Dunayevsky, on the other hand, isn’t particularly memorable, at least in comparison with the music used in two of Aleksandrov’s previous films, with the possible exception of the main song. Some of the jokes are repetitive, and many cast members, including Aleksandrov’s wife and muse Lyubov Orlova, often succumb to overacting. Aleksandrov’s direction is, on the other hand, very good, and he maintains a quick tempo, with a finale that takes place at the recently finished Moscow-Volga Canal and features modern ships and various modes of transportation, providing the most explicit piece of propaganda for the regime in the film.
Somewhat ironically, the best performance in the film is in the role that could have been the most dangerous. Igor Ilynsky plays the character of a pompous, incompetent bureaucrat whose presence could, to more perceptive viewers, suggest that not everything is perfect in the new Soviet socialist utopia. It was Ilynsky’s performance that won Stalin’s favour, and he later liked to jokingly compare his subordinates, including future Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, with their fictional counterpart. Volga-Volga, with all of its flaws, remained popular among Soviet audiences. In 1961, during the Destalinisation campaign, some of the scenes featuring the name of Stalin were cut, and the film was restored to its original state only in post-Soviet Russia. In 2010, Russian state television aired another version with digital colourisation.
RATING: 5 /10 (++)
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