Povest’ plamennyh let

The first Soviet film to be shot on 70mm, POVEST’ PLAMENNYH LET (Chronicle of Flaming Years, 1961) is a monumental narrative about the Great Patriotic War and the Soviet people’s heroism and willingness for sacrifice. At the start of the film, Ivan, the protagonist, stands before the Brandenburg Gate in a Berlin still in flames, ready to build a new, glorious world from the ruins of war. Julia Solntseva filmed the script by her husband Oleksandr Dovzhenko as an elevated poetic epic, contrasting the human suffering unleashed by the war and the dark grey and brown tones of the apocalyptic destroyed landscape with ecstatic, bright and dreamlike depictions of nature. Referring to both the past (the start of the German invasion of the Soviet Union) and the future (Ivan’s return and his marriage), the film culminates in the fusion of the Soviet citizen with his country. Solntseva became the first woman to win the Prize for Best Direction at Cannes with this film. (al)