Dauria (1971)
A chronicle of life in a small village in the Baikal Region on the eve of World War I and at the time of the October Revolution. The age-old foundations are crumbling, the process of social stratification is underway and, as a result, some people go to defend the revolution, and others - to fight against it. The main hero is the young Cossack Roman Ulybin. At first, this carefree daredevil is preoccupied only with one problem: whether his sweetheart, Dashutka, is to marry him or a merchant’s son, Alyoshka. Roman is killing time fist-fighting with his rival. But little by little, the young man realizes that the world around him has changed, that people are fighting for equality and social justice, and, being a real Cossack, he can’t remain on the sidelines…
Watch Trailer
Cast
Reviews
Memorable, crazy movie
The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.
A very interesting depiction of rural Russia, this epic film shows Russian Cossacks living in Siberia. The main theme is a beautiful and tragic love story between young Cossack Roman Ulybin (V. Solomin) and Dashutka (Golovina). Roman is asking his father Severian Ulybin (Shelokhonov) to send a Matchmaker, but a merchant's son has more money, so he takes the girl. The lavish traditional wedding with singing, dancing and drinking in the Russian style is among the best wedding scenes in Russian film. Next comes the Russian Civil War between the Reds and Whites and the movie takes us to some dramatic battles. Good director and a nice ensemble of leading Russian actors make this movie a collectors item.