Paper Soldier

For the Soviet intelligentsia of the 1960s, Bulat Okudzhava’s song Paper Soldier became a kind of anthem, proclaiming the values of individual responsibility and freedom of choice. Those were the days of great expectations, the beginning of Khrushchev’s liberalization and the climax of the grand Communist Utopia, fuelled by the first successful space flights.
Set in the early 60s and featuring an emotionally vulnerable doctor (Merab Ninidze) working with the first team of Soviet cosmonauts, the film presents a very daring artistic effort from the heir to the German dynasty, Alexey Jr. Though deeply rooted in the classic oeuvre of his famous father, and with heavy references to the Soviet cinema of that era, the film is not a 'retro movie'. As German Jr. himself puts it, 'I made an essay about my impressions of that time, the time when my parents were young'. In depicting Gagarin's time and the Soviet liberal renaissance, German Jr. goes beyond documentary authenticity and factual accuracy. In his cinematographic 'search of lost time' the director constructs a complex labyrinth of psychological profiles and creates a collage of cultural references.
With its meticulous directing, superb acting and brilliant cinematography, Paper Soldier triumphed in Venice and was applauded by critics at home. The film was supported by the IFFR Hubert Bals Fund. (MB)