reiher@ucla-cs.UUCP (03/22/85)
Yevgeny Yevtushenko is considered, within the Soviet Union,
to be the finest living Russian poet. Being a connoisseur of
neither the Russian language nor poetry in general, I cannot com-
ment on that statement. I feel safe in saying that he is far
from the finest Russian director, however.
"The Kindergarten" is Yevtushenko's first film (he's in his
early fifties), and is not a particularly auspicious debut. Like
most Russians his age, or, for that matter, most Russians of any
age, he is obsessed with the Second World War. The titular kin-
dergarten is in fact the war, for the film is about the effects
of the German invasion on the children of Russia. Yevtushenko
concentrates on one particular Russian boy who is bundled off to
his grandmother in Siberia to protect him from the expected fall
of Moscow. The trip is far from safe, however, so the boy has
adventures which are something of a cross between "The Painted
Bird" and "Oliver Twist". Assuming one takes Yevtushenko's word,
and why not, almost every event in the film is autobiographical.
Yevtushenko claimed that only the boy's talent with a violin is
invented, music being a bit more visual in its creation than poe-
try.
"The Kindergarten's" biggest problem is its sprawling plot,
stretched out over a two and one half hour running time. There
is a certain repetitiveness about some of the boy's experiences,
and Yevtushenko dwells far too long on certain scenes, as if he
were rapt in contemplation of a childhood memory. A scene of a
Siberian wedding seems to last forever. Moreover, Yevtushenko
uses a symbol in a manner reminiscent of a blindfolded man trying
to kill a cockroach with a shillelagh in a china shop. "The Kin-
dergarten" is strongest when Yevtushenko settles down to a
straightforward, brisk recounting of the major incidents of the
story.
In addition to his meandering way with the plot, Yevtushenko
shows little talent for shot selection. Most of the shots are
simple and unimaginative. These are a great improvement over the
occasional "arty" shot which Yevtushenko chooses to interpolate.
The photography is pretty, the scenery lovely, but the overall
effect is not especially striking.
Yevtushenko does better with his largely amateur actors.
Sergej Gusak is an excellent choice for the central role. He is
natural and intelligent, and fortunate enough not to be given any
the film's little sermons. The rest of the cast is also quite
fine, with the possible exception of an overly florid performance
from the actor portraying a thief our hero falls in with. Klaus
Maria Brandauer, the excellent Austrian star of "Mephisto"
(though doubtless more people saw him as the villain in "Never
Say Never Again"), has a fine scene as a German officer who in-
terrogates the boy's father.
Yevtushenko himself (in a brief statement made after the
screening) apologized that he had tried to put too much into "The
Kindergarten", and that is the root of much of what's wrong with
it. "The Kindergarten" was too ambitious a project for the first
film of a director, particularly one whose talents are not visu-
al. It's watchable and has some good moments, but is a failure
overall.
--
Peter Reiher
reiher@ucla-cs.arpa
{...ihnp4,ucbvax,sdcrdcf}!ucla-cs!reiher