Ballad of a Soldier
Encyclopedia
Cinema of the Soviet Union
The cinema of the Soviet Union, not to be confused with "Cinema of Russia" despite Russian language films being predominant in both genres, includes several film contributions of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union reflecting elements of their pre-Soviet culture, language and history,...
directed by Grigori Chukhrai
Grigori Chukhrai
Grigori Naumovich Chukhrai was a prominent Soviet film director and screenwriter. He is the father of director Pavel Chukhrai.-Career:He was born in Melitopol in the Zaporizhia Oblast of Ukraine...
and starring Vladimir Ivashov
Vladimir Ivashov
Vladimir Sergeyevich Ivashov was a Soviet-born actor based in Russia. He had a film career that spanned over 30 years. He is best known for his role as Pvt. Alyosha Skvortsov in Ballad of a Soldier which he starred in with Zhanna Prokhorenko in 1959.The film was awarded the Moscow International...
and Zhanna Prokhorenko
Zhanna Prokhorenko
Zhanneta "Zhanna" Trofymovna Prokhorenko was a Ukrainian-born Soviet-era actress, best known to European and North American audiences for her role in Grigori Chukhrai's 1959 film, Ballad of a Soldier.-Life/career:...
. While set during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Ballad of a Soldier is not primarily a war film. It recounts, within the context of the turmoil of war, various kinds of love: the romantic love of a young couple, the committed love of a married couple, and a mother's love of her child, as a Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
soldier tries to make it home during a leave, meeting several civilians on his way and falling in love. The film was produced at Mosfilm
Mosfilm
Mosfilm is a film studio, which is often described as the largest and oldest in Russia and in Europe. Its output includes most of the more widely-acclaimed Soviet films, ranging from works by Tarkovsky and Eisenstein , to Red Westerns, to the Akira Kurosawa co-production and the epic Война и Мир...
and won several awards, including the BAFTA Award for Best Film from any Source
BAFTA Award for Best Film
This page lists the winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Film, BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language and Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film for each year, in addition to the retired earlier versions of those awards...
and was nominated for the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay.
Plot
A middle-aged farm woman walks through her village and gazes down a country road. A voiceover reveals that her son was killed in the war and buried in a foreign land.On the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
, nineteen-year-old soldier Alexei Nikolaevich Skvortsov (Vladimir Ivashov) single handedly destroys two attacking German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
tanks, more out of self-preservation than bravery. His commanding general wants to give him a decoration, but Alyosha asks instead for a leave to see his mother and to repair the leaking roof of their home. He is given six days.
During his journey, he sees the devastation the war has wrought on the country and meets various people. When the jeep Alyosha is riding gets stuck in the mud, Private Pavlov helps push it out. As Alyosha will be passing through his home city, Pavlov persuades him to take a present to Pavlov's wife. Pavlov's sergeant reluctantly parts with two bars of soap, the entire supply for their platoon.
At the train station, Alyosha helpfully carries the suitcase of Vasya, a soldier discharged because he has lost a leg. Vasya does not want to go home, as he would be a burden to his wife, and their relationship had already been troubled. However, he changes his mind and is welcomed with open arms by the loving woman.
When he attempts to board a freight car of an army supply train, Alyosha is stopped by Gavrilkin, a sentry. However, a bribe of a can of beef eases Gavrilkin's fear of his lieutenant, a "beast". Shura (Zhanna Prokhorenko
Zhanna Prokhorenko
Zhanneta "Zhanna" Trofymovna Prokhorenko was a Ukrainian-born Soviet-era actress, best known to European and North American audiences for her role in Grigori Chukhrai's 1959 film, Ballad of a Soldier.-Life/career:...
) later sneaks aboard as well, but when she sees him, she becomes frightened and tries to jump off the speeding train. Alyosha stops her from risking her life. She tells him she is going to see her fiancé, a pilot who is recuperating in a hospital. As the days pass, she loses her fear and distrust of him. Gavrilkin spots the civilian stowaway, forcing Alyosha to bribe him anew. When the lieutenant discovers the unauthorized passengers, he lets them remain aboard and even makes Gavrilkin return the bribe.
At one stop, Alyosha gets out to fetch some water, but the train leaves without him. Frantic, he gets a lift to the next station from an old woman truck driver. He is too late; the train has already departed. However, Shura got off and is waiting for him. The couple then go to see Pavlov's wife. They discover that she is living with another man and leave. Alyosha returns, takes back the soap, and gives it instead to Pavlov's invalid father.
When they finally part, Shura confesses she lied; there was no fiancé, only an aunt. Alyosha realizes too late, after his train departs, that when Shura said she had no one, she was telling him that she loves him. His train is stopped by a blown-up bridge and set on fire by German artillery. With time running out, Alyosha rafts across the river and persuades another truck driver to give him a ride to his rural village, Sosnovka. He gets to see his mother (and his neighbor Zoya, who he had told Shura was a little in love with him) only for a few minutes before having to make his way back to his unit. His mother vows to wait for him. The voiceover tells us that while he could have gone far in life if he had lived, he will always be remembered simply as a Russian soldier.
Cast
- Vladimir IvashovVladimir IvashovVladimir Sergeyevich Ivashov was a Soviet-born actor based in Russia. He had a film career that spanned over 30 years. He is best known for his role as Pvt. Alyosha Skvortsov in Ballad of a Soldier which he starred in with Zhanna Prokhorenko in 1959.The film was awarded the Moscow International...
as Private Alyosha Skvortsov - Zhanna ProkhorenkoZhanna ProkhorenkoZhanneta "Zhanna" Trofymovna Prokhorenko was a Ukrainian-born Soviet-era actress, best known to European and North American audiences for her role in Grigori Chukhrai's 1959 film, Ballad of a Soldier.-Life/career:...
as Shura - Antonina Maksimova as the mother
- Nikolai KryuchkovNikolai KryuchkovNikolai Kryuchkov was a Soviet film actor. He appeared in 94 films between 1932 and 1993.-Selected filmography:* Okraina * By the Bluest of Seas * The Return of Maxim * The Vyborg Side * Salavat Yulayev...
as the general - Yevgeni UrbanskyYevgeni UrbanskyYevgeni Urbansky was a prominent Soviet Russian actor.The creative life of Yevgeni Urbansky was short but very bright. A whole cinema epoch with peculiar aesthetics was created by him in the films Kommunist , Ballada o soldate , and Chistoe nebo...
as Vasya - Elza Lezhdey as Vasya's wife
- Aleksandr Kuznetsov as Gavrilkin
- Yevgeni Teterin as The lieutenant
- V. Markova as Liza (Pavlov's wife)
- Marina Kremnyova as Zoya (neighbor girl)
- Vladimir Pokrovsky as Pavlov's invalid father
- Georgi YumatovGeorgi YumatovGeorgi Yumatov was a Soviet film actor. He appeared in 65 films between 1947 and 1994.-Selected filmography:* The Young Guard * Zhukovsky * Hostile Whirlwinds * Road to Life...
as Sergeant giving bars of soap - Gennadi YukhtinGennadi YukhtinGennadi Yukhtin is a Soviet film actor. He appeared in 53 films between 1955 and 1991.-Selected filmography:* Ballad of a Soldier * Zhavoronok * The Andromeda Nebula * The Brothers Karamazov...
as Private Seryozha Pavlov - Valentina Telegina as Old woman truck driver
- Lev BorisovLev BorisovLev Ivanovich Borisov was a Russian actor. Brother of Oleg Borisov. He was a People's Artist of Russia.Lev Borisov was buried at the Troyekurovskoye Cemetery....
as Joking soldier on train
The two lead actors, Ivashov and Prokhorenko, were both only nineteen years old and did not have much acting experience. Grigori Chukhrai commented of his casting choice:
We took a big risk. It was risky to give the main roles to quite inexperienced actors. Not many would have done so in those times, but we ventured and did not regret afterwards. Volodya and Zhanna gave the most precious colouring to the film, that is, the spontaneity and charm of youth.
Both would go on to long careers in cinema.
Production
According to Robert OsborneRobert Osborne
Robert Jolin Osborne is an American actor and film historian best known as the primary host for Turner Classic Movies, and previously a host of The Movie Channel.-Life and career:...
, the primary host of Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
was a fan of the director, so Chukrai was given more leeway than normal.
Reception
Ballad of a Soldier was released on December 1, 1959 in the Soviet Union and sold 30.1 million tickets.The film received considerable praise for both its technical craft and its strong, yet subtle story. Viewed from the earnestness and unabashed youthfulness of the protagonist, the film was hailed as an instant classic by Soviet and American critics. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reviewer Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
applauded Chukrai's success in making the film "flow in such a swift, poetic way that the tragedy of it is concealed by a gentle lyric quality." He also noted the "two splendid performances" by Ivashov and Prokhorenko.
The film received the Lenin State Prize in 1961, and so did its director and producer.
Awards
- 1960 Cannes Film Festival1960 Cannes Film Festival-Jury:*Georges Simenon *Marc Allégret *Louis Chauvet *Diego Fabbri *Hidemi Ima *Grigori Kozintsev *Maurice Leroux *Max Lippmann *Henry Miller...
- Special jury prize - Bucharest Film FestivalBucharest Film FestivalThe Bucharest Film Festival is a defunct film festival active between 1948 and 1968 in the city of Bucharest founded by Nicolae Barbu. Originally known as the Bucharest Festival of Socialist Film due to its part funding by the Communist Party, the festival specialized in films of the Eastern Bloc...
, 1960 - Golden Wolf for Best Film - 5th San Francisco International Film FestivalSan Francisco International Film FestivalSan Francisco International Film Festival is the oldest continuously running film festival in the Americas. Organized by the San Francisco Film Society, the International is held each spring for two weeks, presenting an average of 150 films from over 50 countries...
, 1960 - Golden Gate Award for Best Film and Golden Gate Award for Best Director - BAFTA Award for Best Film from any Source, 1961
- Bodil Awards for Best European FilmBodil AwardsThe Bodil Awards are the major Danish film awards given by Denmark's National Association of Film Critics . The awards are presented annually at a ceremony in the Imperial Cinema in Copenhagen. Established in 1948, it is one of the oldest film awards in Europe...
, 1961 - Nominated for Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay, 1961 - Grigori ChukhraiGrigori ChukhraiGrigori Naumovich Chukhrai was a prominent Soviet film director and screenwriter. He is the father of director Pavel Chukhrai.-Career:He was born in Melitopol in the Zaporizhia Oblast of Ukraine...
, Valentin Yezhov