''Road to Life'' (russian: Путёвка в жизнь, Putyovka v zhizn) is a 1931 Soviet

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

written and directed by Nikolai Ekk. The film won an award at the 1932 Venice International Film Festival, which went to Ekk for Most Convincing Director. It was the first

sound film A sound film is a motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decad ...

in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, and the first to be win a Best Director award at any film festival.

Plot summary

In Moscow operates one of the countless gangs of

street kids Street children are poor or homeless children who live on the streets of a city, town, or village. Homeless youth are often called street kids or street child; the definition of street children is contested, but many practitioners and policymak ...

– Zhigan's gang. The boys who belong to it have been living on the street for a long time. In December 1923 police forces conduct a raid, and catch about a thousand homeless children. Almost all of them are distributed to orphanages. But there are several dozen minors who run away from all the orphanages to which they are sent. For example, Mustafa has escaped 8 times and had to be returned 15 times by the authorities. What is one supposed to do with them? This leads to a decision to send them over to a house of correction, that is, a prison for minors. Sergeev offers another solution: to create a labor commune. The children will work as carpenters, shoemakers, carpenters, remain free citizens, they will feed themselves. But not with theft, instead with work ... Good intentions as always, are good only in theory. In practice, the former street kids do not immediately become honest hard workers ...

Cast

* Nikolai Batalov - Nikolai Sergeiev *

Yvan Kyrlya Yvan Kyrlya (real name Kirill Ivanovich Ivanov) (russian: Йыва́н Кы́рла; 17 March 1909, Kupsola – July 1943) was a Mari Soviet actor and poet, famous for his role of Mustafa Fert in the first Soviet sound film '' Road to Life'' ...

- Dandy Mustapha * Mikhail Dzhagofarov - Nikolai 'Kolka' Rebrov * Aleksandr Novikov – Vaska Busa * Mikhail Zharov – Fomka Zhigan * Glikeriya Bogdanova-Chesnokova – a girl from a gang of Zhigan (not in the titles, the episode was cut and remains in the general plans only) * Mariya Andropova as Maria Skriabina * Vladimir Vesnovsky as Mr. Rebrov * Mariya Gonfa as Lelka, aka 'Maziha' * Bozhak Besprizornykh

Production

The film was shot on the territory of the Bolshevskaya labor commune named after

Genrikh Yagoda Genrikh Grigoryevich Yagoda ( rus, Ге́нрих Григо́рьевич Яго́да, Genrikh Grigor'yevich Yagoda, born Yenokh Gershevich Iyeguda; 7 November 1891 – 15 March 1938) was a Soviet secret police official who served as directo ...

(established in February 1924).Хиллиг, Гётц
А. С. Макаренко и Болшевская коммуна
// Постметодика, № 2, 2001 «Громадянська освіта в школі» Several scenes were filmed on the territory of the Annunciation Monastery in Sarapul. The arrival of street children in the labor commune, as well as scenes of street rebellion, were all filmed in the village of Kolomenskoye. The Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye is also shown in the film. This is the first appearance in film of actors

Rina Zelyonaya Ekaterina Vasilyevna Zelyonaya (russian: link=no, Екатерина Васильевна Зелёная); ( — 1 April 1991, Moscow), better known by her stage name Rina Zelyonaya, was a Soviet actress, singer and comedian. She was named Peop ...

and Georgiy Zhzhonov. Old residents of the city of Dzerzhinsk ( Lyuberetsky District) believe that the film tells the story of a labor commune located in the area of the Ugresha Monastery. They say that at Lyubertsy Dzerzhinsky on a single-track is a place where Zhigan killed Mustafa.

Awards

The film's director Nikolai Ekk was named as the best director by a poll of viewers of the

1st Venice International Film Festival The 1st annual Venice International Film Festival was held between 6 and 21 August 1932. '' Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' was the first film to be screened at the festival. No official prizes were awarded, so an audience referendum took place to de ...

(1932).

Legacy

While Genrikh Yagoda served as a comissar, Bolshevskaya commune being dedicated to him brought it certain advantages. After the arrest of Genrikh Yagoda in April 1937, the commune was broken and dispersed, Matvei Pogrebinsky shot himself, his books ("Factory of people", edited under

Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...

, and others) were removed from libraries and destroyed. However, the film, due to its high international acclaim, was not withdrawn from circulation, but all mention of the commune itself were excised from the footage.

References

External links

* 1931 films Gorky Film Studio films 1931 drama films Soviet drama films Soviet black-and-white films Soviet teen films Mari-language films {{1930s-USSR-film-stub