I think this is the most interesting film we have watched so far. It was nice to see a movie portraying the real Soviet Russia, instead of how the Russians tried to appear to the rest of the world.
Also, I just have to say that Nadya was by far my favorite character out of all the movies we've watched so far. It's rare to find such a young actress who looks so natural in front of a camera, and she did an excellent job or depicting the happiness and innocence of a child.
In a postscript the film is dedicated to those "burnt by the sun" of the Revolution. Along with Nadya singing the song "Burnt by the Sun" repeatedly, there is a sun that floats around throughout the movie. I think it was easy to figure out that to be "burnt" meant to be killed, and that "the sun" was Stalin. When the sun floated through Kotov's dacha it was foreshadowing that someone was about to be "burnt by the sun", or killed by Stalin's men.
While Mitya obviously had political motives for arresting Kotov, I think he had personal reasons as well. He was jealous of Kotov because he was married to Marusia. When he talked to Marusia's relatives, he learned of how miserable she was after he left. Mityz realized that if he had stayed he would have married Marusia, and he would be the man with the happy family instead of Kotov. But I think that when Mitya commits suicide at the end of the movie, we see that he feels guilty for arresting Kotov and destroying his family.
I think that Burnt by the Sun was made for an international audience. There are many movies that were made during Soviet Russia that portray an ideal life and try to hide the horror of living in Russia during that time. I think the main reason Mikhalkov made this film was to show the rest of the world what living in Russia under Stalin was really like.
3 comments:
I agree with you on Nadya being the best young actress we've seen so far in the movies. I found her very adorable and lovable but at the same time I think she portrayed Kotov's character as well, seeing that she was his daughter.
I didn't understand the floating sun part until after I read your blog. That makes a lot more sense. I had a feeling that it was a bad omen but I like how you chose it to depict Stalin and I have to agree.
I also agree with your view of Nadya.
She was an excellent actress who I think should be called the Russian Shirley Temple. Your view on the floating sun is also interesting. I
was not sure what it meant, but now have a better understanding of its significance. Perhaps it does depict the demonic power of Stalin and the destruction that comes with it.
i don't think it represented Stalin, but death/killing in general. The reason i say this is because Kotov mentioned Stalin's direct line is still frightening to his kidnappers. The killings were not necessarily endorsed by Stalin, but they happened nonetheless. Perhaps it represented death under the Stalin regime in general, but not necessarily what Stalin endorsed.
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