A Soviet label the dawns here are quiet military drama filmed in 1972 by director Stanislav Rostotsky based on the work of the same name by Boris Vasiliev. Under the command of foreman Fedot Vaskov, a platoon of anti-aircraft troops arrives, consisting entirely of young girls. By chance, they discover the presence of German scouts in the forest. Mistakenly believing that there are only two of them, the foreman takes only five with him on a mission. Sitting in ambush, they learn that there are many more Germans ...
I could write an essay about the story because the original is always considered better than the film adaptation. Still, I wanted to think about the film because it made an indelible impression on me in my childhood. I was 6-7 years old, and despite such an early age, I felt the main thing - the horror of war.
The film stands out from the many military tapes because the main characters are women. The battle is shown not only and not so much as a confrontation between two countries but as a confrontation between women and men - fascist invaders, on the one hand, and fragile but fearless, and therefore invincible, Soviet women. It evokes a subconscious association with the most vivid image of the war years - the Motherland. This is what the director wanted to emphasize, one of the most controversial scenes in Soviet cinema - the scene in the bathhouse.
Each heroine has her character and her characteristics. But they are united not only by war. Each of them has their accounts with the enemy - the Germans shot Zhenya Komelkova's entire family; Sonya Gurvich, being Jewish, worried about her people and her family, who remained in occupied Minsk; Rita Osyanina's husband died in the first days of the war.. And, of course, they were united by a common idea - to protect the Motherland. I want to emphasize that they were united not only by common grief but also by the primary ability of every woman - the ability to love. Gali Chetvertak is still a childish feeling of romantic love in the state rather than in a specific person. It's hard for Liza Brichkina to admit this even to herself - she is in love with Vaskov. The director, relying on a well-thought-out script, creates an unforgettable image of each heroine so that the feeling of empathy for the characters does not let go of the viewer throughout the film.
Particularly striking is the scene of the ambush, or rather the moment of the appearance of the Germans. In complete confidence that there would be no more than two of them, the girls, who began to count the enemies, counted sixteen. The episode is shocking; the viewer understands that the fight will be unequal and not every heroine so beloved will live to the end...
Lisa Brichkina died first - she drowned in a swamp, running for help. A German stabbed Sonya Gurvich. Gali Chetvertak's nerves could not stand it; she ran out of the ambush under enemy bullets. Zhenya Komelkova, saving her comrades, led the enemies behind her. The seriously wounded Rita Osyanina, in order not to be a burden, shot herself ... Each death is given with pain in the heart of the foreman.
"The film uses a brilliant visual technique - black and white are used throughout the film, and the characters' memories are in color. This enhances the emotional perception of the viewer a hundredfold; in addition, it is a great metaphor - the heroes' lives were full of colors, but the outbreak of the war-painted reality in two colors - black and white. An interesting moment - at the film's end, the main character sees the dead girls "in color." By this, the director wanted to say that the heroines will forever remain in our memory alive, young, beautiful, like life itself in all its colors.
In the end, foreman Fedot Vaskov managed to take the remaining Nazis prisoner; exhausted from fatigue, he led them to the rear, and only when he saw reinforcements did he allow himself to turn off. Tragic music, a "bouncing" camera, and blurring focus are artistic techniques that enhance the moment's drama. Vaskov lost all his fighters but coped with the task. Although it was a "battle of local importance" (such is the name of the second series of the film), these battles formed the picture of victory. Undoubtedly, thanks to this battle as well, the dawns here will always be quiet...
I could write an essay about the story because the original is always considered better than the film adaptation. Still, I wanted to think about the film because it made an indelible impression on me in my childhood. I was 6-7 years old, and despite such an early age, I felt the main thing - the horror of war.
The film stands out from the many military tapes because the main characters are women. The battle is shown not only and not so much as a confrontation between two countries but as a confrontation between women and men - fascist invaders, on the one hand, and fragile but fearless, and therefore invincible, Soviet women. It evokes a subconscious association with the most vivid image of the war years - the Motherland. This is what the director wanted to emphasize, one of the most controversial scenes in Soviet cinema - the scene in the bathhouse.
Each heroine has her character and her characteristics. But they are united not only by war. Each of them has their accounts with the enemy - the Germans shot Zhenya Komelkova's entire family; Sonya Gurvich, being Jewish, worried about her people and her family, who remained in occupied Minsk; Rita Osyanina's husband died in the first days of the war.. And, of course, they were united by a common idea - to protect the Motherland. I want to emphasize that they were united not only by common grief but also by the primary ability of every woman - the ability to love. Gali Chetvertak is still a childish feeling of romantic love in the state rather than in a specific person. It's hard for Liza Brichkina to admit this even to herself - she is in love with Vaskov. The director, relying on a well-thought-out script, creates an unforgettable image of each heroine so that the feeling of empathy for the characters does not let go of the viewer throughout the film.
Particularly striking is the scene of the ambush, or rather the moment of the appearance of the Germans. In complete confidence that there would be no more than two of them, the girls, who began to count the enemies, counted sixteen. The episode is shocking; the viewer understands that the fight will be unequal and not every heroine so beloved will live to the end...
Lisa Brichkina died first - she drowned in a swamp, running for help. A German stabbed Sonya Gurvich. Gali Chetvertak's nerves could not stand it; she ran out of the ambush under enemy bullets. Zhenya Komelkova, saving her comrades, led the enemies behind her. The seriously wounded Rita Osyanina, in order not to be a burden, shot herself ... Each death is given with pain in the heart of the foreman.
"The film uses a brilliant visual technique - black and white are used throughout the film, and the characters' memories are in color. This enhances the emotional perception of the viewer a hundredfold; in addition, it is a great metaphor - the heroes' lives were full of colors, but the outbreak of the war-painted reality in two colors - black and white. An interesting moment - at the film's end, the main character sees the dead girls "in color." By this, the director wanted to say that the heroines will forever remain in our memory alive, young, beautiful, like life itself in all its colors.
In the end, foreman Fedot Vaskov managed to take the remaining Nazis prisoner; exhausted from fatigue, he led them to the rear, and only when he saw reinforcements did he allow himself to turn off. Tragic music, a "bouncing" camera, and blurring focus are artistic techniques that enhance the moment's drama. Vaskov lost all his fighters but coped with the task. Although it was a "battle of local importance" (such is the name of the second series of the film), these battles formed the picture of victory. Undoubtedly, thanks to this battle as well, the dawns here will always be quiet...