Hero or not? About S. Ursulyak’s film “The Righteous”

There are subjects that are particularly difficult to talk about in the language of cinema. And because of excessive pain, and because the current directors were not eyewitnesses to the events that the films are about. The theme of the Great Patriotic War is one of them. Talking about it is difficult and painful, but necessary.”The Righteous” by Sergei Ursulyak is distinguished by the real story behind the plot, many details of which are very carefully transferred to the screen.Red Army soldier Nikolai Kiselev, at the height of the war, saved about two hundred Jews from certain death. Is this a heroic act? Undoubtedly. But for most of the film, that is exactly what is revealed – was Kiselyov a hero? Confirmation of this fact is necessary for the staff of the Israeli Holocaust Remembrance Center. They plan to plant a hero’s tree in honor of Kiselyov – other people who showed courage and bravery during the war against Nazi Germany received such a tribute in memory at different times .The action of the film develops in parallel in 1942 and 2005. The war years immerse the spectator in the history of the exploit of Kiselyov and in the history of the salvation of the Jewish youth Moshe Tal (Mark Eidelstein). The main character of the part of the story that develops in the peaceful and calm 2000s is old Moshe (Dovale Glikman), who stubbornly refuses to share the story of his salvation and acquaintance with Nikolai (Alexander Yatsenko) . The reason for his silence is a long-standing resentment against Kiselyov – he did something, because of which the already quite adult Tal suffered slightly at that time, but a little boy was saved from a death terrible … Image from the movie “Righteous”Photo source: Film company “TriTe”Kiselyov throughout the film acted as he saw fit. He did not consider himself a hero, but calmly and methodically did what he set out to do. As an accountant, he calculated each step. Think of a plan to move around the forest to be as invisible to the enemy as possible. Agree with Rabbi Yankel (Sergei Makovetsky) on the abolition of Jewish religious traditions during the flight (oh, how difficult it was to force the fugitives to at least eat pork stew! But Kiselyov did not order, namely, he negotiated, argued .. ). Save a terrified Jewish baby from the hands of his own father, who has lost his human appearance due to fatigue. To save the boy’s leg with the help of … sugar (and first to get that same sugar – great value in war). All this – calmly, imperturbably, but thoughtfully and with inexhaustible concern for those who are nearby. In many ways, Kiselev is aided by his cold accountant mind…But even people as rational as him (and precisely) know how to love with a particular force. The picture reflects the true love story of Nikolai and Anna (Lyubov Konstantinova) – the girl knew German very well, so she was appointed as an assistant to a Red Army soldier. Young people met during the war, and after its end they became spouses. Only one point is perplexing: this story – real and therefore even more precious – is sketched in the film in just a few strokes. There is no obvious passion, affection between the characters, and only their separation, as if by chance remarks being thrown around hint that Cupid was flying between these two, fluttering… Image from the movie “Righteous”Photo source: Film company “TriTe”But in all colors, a fictional love story of a certain narrow-minded Russian Ferz (Evgeny Tkachuk) and a Jewish woman Tova (Maria Zolotukhina) is shown in all colors. In the forties of the last century, almost no one heard of abusive relationships, but in this couple they are exactly like that – the “courtship” of the queen of a dark-haired beauty begins with an attempted rape, then – forcing (not an offer!) To become his lawful wife (In the forest At the height of the war, when the enemy’s speech is heard from very near and the gunfire does not stop, when there’s no time for religious rituals (remember he’s Russian, and she’s Jewish, so rituals are a must) fun, not up to the cries of “Bitter!”, If only to survive…). Image from the movie “Righteous”Photo source: Film company “TriTe”But there’s something far more important in “Righteous Man” than the lovelines. This is the authenticity of acting. There is nothing to complain about this part either to the performers of the main roles, or to those whose characters do not appear so often in the frame (Konstantin Khabensky as Moshe’s father, Fyodor Dobronravov as image of Commissar Timchuk are equally profound, “infectious”, they want to believe), nor to child actors (they are not only glorious and cinematic, but also capable of the whole “adult” palette of emotions). Thanks to the powerful cast, even the antagonists turned out to be very real, in each of them a personality with its own character is visible. Kiselyov’s main adversary quotes Pushkin by heart (and speaks fairly fluent Russian), shines with his knowledge of Russian history…And perhaps the main advantage of the film is the ability to get not one-sided, but “volumetric” view of the situation – the viewer sees the attitude of different people to the same phenomenon – representatives of different nationalities, carriers of different traditions and cultures. This “volume” and makes you want to watch the film to the end. After all, life – our real life – is also voluminous, multicolored.