After coupe No. 6, the rising star of Russian cinema is back in a new movie

A dark and political tale

USSR, 1938. At the height of the Great Terror, during a period of intense political repression, Joseph Stalin purges his own ranks. The men who carry out the repression are themselves arrested and shot at the slightest suspicion.

Knowing that he was condemned in turn, Captain Volkogonov must escape. He then becomes involved in a fierce race to escape his city, which is being hunted by his former comrades. During the flight, he has a vision: in order to save his soul, he must confront the families of the victims and earn their forgiveness.

If the main lines of its synopsis associate it with the thriller genre, Captain Volkonogov Fugitive manages to cross this boundary to reach new heights. Because of its highly political and historical framework, it really shines with a chilling realism in dealing with facts that are unchallenged but never lose the power of its main vector, the image.

A historical picture of terrible violence…

This is because the film by Natalya Merkulova and Alexei Chupov has a number of “subtle” scenes that strike the audience and impress on their stunned retinas concrete examples of the authoritarian excesses of the Soviet system.

Espionage, torture, executions… so many acts of violence are presented with almost documentary precision, but always very cinematic. The discretion of the soundtrack, even its complete absence in certain sequences, allows you to capture the slightest breath, the slightest burst of bullets or the slightest sound of footsteps to find yourself in the heart of the action.

Therefore, Captain Volkonogov’s escape should be reserved for the informed public, but not necessarily those interested in history. Because if the historical framework corresponds to the past reality, the fluidity of the plot and the characterization of its characters are more than enough to understand the issues. A dizzying dive into one of the most obscure eras that hits as hard as it hits.

… but it burns with certainty

After a very remarkable premiere in the competition of the Venice Film Festival, a prize at the European festival Les Arcs or even at the Strange Festival, the feature film by Natalia Merkulova and Alexei Chupov has since been banned in Russia. Its plot framework, which tells us about the Great Terror of 1938, does not seem so far from our reality as it seems.

From architecture to Soviet aircraft, from cobbled streets to remote ghettos, Volkonogov’s desperate flight transports the viewer through time and space to transport him to his harsh reality.

But this reality is contrasted with the historical liberties and anachronistic details that abound, drawing many parallels between Volkogonov’s terrified Russia and our own today (the presence of graffiti, the costumes of NKVD soldiers capable of inciting a militia). ongoing…). The Great Terror suddenly doesn’t seem so far away…

Surprised with confidence in the title role, Yuri Borisov is no longer the first attempt. Indeed, the young actor recently excelled in Kriril Serebrennikov’s Petrov Fever, or even Coupe N°6, César and Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film 2022.

His performance as a good unflappable little soldier with doubts is disturbing. Despite his misdeeds, attachment is inevitable and the need to know his fate will keep you on your toes until the end.

Captain Volkonogov escaped It should be discovered in cinemas from March 29.