''Rainbow'' ( uk, Веселка; translit. ''Veselka'', russian: Радуга; translit. ''Raduga''), is a 1944 Soviet

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...

directed by

Mark Donskoy Mark Semyonovich Donskoy (russian: Марк Семёнович Донско́й; – 21 March 1981) was a Soviet film director, screenwriter, and studio administrative head. Biography Mark Donskoy was born in Odessa in a Jewish family. Durin ...

and written by

Wanda Wasilewska ukr, Ванда Львівна Василевська rus, Ванда Львовна Василевская , native_name_lang = , birth_date = , birth_place = Kraków, Austria-Hungary , death_date = , death_place ...

based on her novel, ''Tęcza''. The film depicts life in a German-occupied village in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

from the viewpoint of the terrorized villagers.

Cast

* Elena Tyapkina as Feodosya *

Hans Klering Hans Klering (8 November 1906 – 30 October 1988) was a German actor, director, voice actor, graphic designer and author. He joined the Communist Party and went into exile in the Soviet Union in 1931, returning to Germany in 1945. In 1946, he beca ...

as Captain Kurt Werner *

Nina Alisova Nina Ulyanovna Alisova (russian: Нина Ульяновна Алисова) (15 December 1915 in Kyiv – 12 October 1996 in Moscow) was a Soviet theater and film actress. Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1950). After her death she was buried in the ...

as Pusya * Natalya Uzhviy as Olena Kostyuk *

Anna Lisyanskaya Anna Lisyanskaya born Hanna Hryhorivna Lysyanska (1 November 1917 - 2 December 1999) was a Ukrainian and Russian theater and film actress of Jewish origin. Early life and education Hanna Lysyanska was born on 1 November 1917 in Mykolaiv in a th ...

as Malyuchikha * Nikolai Bratersky as Petr Gaplik, collaborator mayor * Vitya Vinogradov as Mishka Malyuchik * Anton Dunaysky as Grandfather Evdokim Okhabko * Vera Ivashova as Olga, Pusya's sister *

Vladimir Chobur Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...

as Lt. Kravchenko

Plot

The German conquerors are above nothing, not even the slaughter of small children, to break the spirit of their Soviet captives. Suffering more than most is Olga (Nataliya Uzhviy), a

Soviet partisan Soviet partisans were members of resistance movements that fought a guerrilla war against Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Soviet-occupied territories of interwar Poland in 1941–45 and eastern Finland. The ...

who returns to the village to bear her child, only to endure the cruelest of arbitrary tortures at the hands of the Nazis. Eventually, the villagers rise up against their oppressors, but unexpectedly do not wipe them out, electing instead to force the surviving Nazis to stand trial for their atrocities in a postwar "people's court." (It is also implied that those who

collaborated Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...

with the Germans will be dealt with in the same way).

Reception

"Brilliantly acted by virtually everyone in the cast, ''Rainbow'' is a remarkable achievement, one that deserves to be better known outside of Russia." It has been described as the most powerful and effective of the Soviet propaganda films produced during the war. The film was recommended to President

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

by the American ambassador in Moscow in early 1944. Roosevelt cabled Ambassador W. Averell Harriman in Moscow on March 14, 1944 with the message that he had viewed the film, and found it so "beautifully and dramatically presented that it required little translation." FDR stated that he hoped it could be shown to the American public; it was released in the USA in June, 1944, by

Artkino Pictures Nicola Napoli, was the President of Artkino Pictures, Inc., the primary distributor of Soviet films in the United States, Canada, Central America and South America from 1940 to 1982. Napoli was a double agent Soviet Spy for the United States. In 19 ...

Inc..

References

External links

* * 1944 films 1944 in the Soviet Union Films based on Polish novels Films directed by Mark Donskoy 1940s Russian-language films Films set in Ukraine Eastern Front of World War II films Soviet black-and-white films Soviet war drama films 1940s war drama films 1944 drama films {{1940s-USSR-film-stub