Soviet Movie Café: Twenty Days Without War

“Twenty Days Without War” (1976) is a melodramatic war film blending cruelty of battles & a hostile routine of the war time. Based on a story by Konstantin Simonov & directed by Alexey German it reconstructs the Soviet reality of 1942 in accordance with words of its real witnesses.

The plot so far: Major Lop’atin is a military journalist. After the battle of Stalingrad on his way back from Moscow to the front he visits his hometown of Tashkent (Uzbekistan) & spends there 20 days of his leave. This short period of time changes his vision of the war: it is very unusual for him to stay out of the battles, to face an ordinary daily routine & to be involved in making of a war-movie created on his own articles. These twenty days without war change his mind & even give him little joys of a simple happiness that he shares with a woman named Nina.

I would like to mark the leading parts: ‘Yurij Nik’ulin (Major Lop’atin) was a soldier during the Second World War. His acting is very natural, very intimate as it makes him to experience again that cruel time.

Here is a version with automatic subtitles. I hope you will enjoy it, Esteemed Readers: Twenty Days Without War (1976).

PS: Image by Kinopoisk

Maria KethuProfumo