Ballad Of A Soldier Review
By Christopher Null
Ballad of a Soldier earned international acclaim during its 1959 release but was beloved nowhere more than in its homeland of Russia. It's easy to see why. Alyosha's (Vladimir Ivashov) journey has all the makings of high adventure, drama, and romance. He has to bribe a fellow soldier just to hop a train to his village, but he also finds solace in the arms of a fellow hitchhiker, Shura (Zhanna Prokhorenko), though it is all too fleeting. At times, it looks like the simple trip home to mom will never be completed.
Grigori Chukhrai's Ballad is a small movie, but it's also powerful and one of the best examinations of the Russian WWII experience from a soldier and civilian point of view. Alyosha's world is driven by the little things -- hunting for water, the search for companionship, however fleeting. Its love story is tender and sweet, and it must have captivated Russians the way Titanic grabbed American audiences in our era. (Yeah, I realize that's a rough analogy, but you get the drift.)
The direction and cinematography are fantastic, overcoming the limitations of the story, and Ivashov and Prokhorenko's performances are perfectly crafted insights into the Russian mindset of its era. The new Criterion DVD enhances all of these things, and while the extras are spare, it's a movie that honestly doesn't need them. Fabulous.
Aka Ballada o soldate.
Facts and Figures
Year: 1959
Run time: 88 mins
In Theaters: Monday 26th December 1960
Distributed by: Criterion Collection
Production compaines: Mosfilm
Reviews
Contactmusic.com: 4.5 / 5
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
Fresh: 12
IMDB: 8.0 / 10
Cast & Crew
Director: Grigori Chukhraj
Producer: M. Chernova
Screenwriter: Grigori Chukhraj, Valentin Yezhov
Starring: Vladimir Ivashov as Pvt. Alyosha Skvortsov, Zhanna Prokhorenko as Shura, Evgeniy Urbanskiy as Одноногий солдат на станции, Nikolay Kryuchkov as Командир, Antonina Maksimova as The mother, Elza Lezhdey as The invalid's wife, Georgiy Yumatov as Sergeant, Gennadiy Yukhtin as Pavlov, Lev Borisov as Soldier
Also starring: Nikolai Kryuchkov, Grigori Chukhraj, Valentin Yezhov