Siberiade
| Siberiade | |
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Russian DVD cover
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| Directed by | Andrei Konchalovsky |
| Produced by | Erik Waisberg |
| Written by | Andrei Konchalovsky Valentin Yezhov |
| Starring | Vladimir Samojlov Natalya Andrejchenko Vitaly Solomin Nikita Mikhalkov |
| Music by | Eduard Artemyev |
| Cinematography | Levan Paatashvili |
| Edited by | Valentina Kulagina |
| Distributed by | Mosfilm |
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Release date
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Running time
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275 min. (4-part) |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Language | Russian / German |
Siberiade (Russian: Сибириада, translit. Sibiriada) is a 1979 epic Soviet film in four parts, spanning much of the 20th century. It was directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, working for the Mosfilm studio.
In its theme, the movie combines narrative elements from different traditions. So the first part of the movie tells of wondrous archetypical elements within the Russian culture, as connected to the pre-electrified epoch that is being narrated. Similarly, elements of the heroic epic are included within the part narrating the protagonist's involvement in World War II.
Throughout the film, the differences in epoch displayed and, accordingly, stylistics and themes used are very well consistent with each other, thus writing a continuous history of Siberia in the 20th century, transcending the seeming ruptures yielded by the national- and global-scale socio-political and socio-economic discourses. Likewise, it can be watched and regarded as an early reflection on processes of globalisation.
The small village of Yelan has lain hidden in the Siberian backwoods since time immemorial, Siberiade revolves around two families, the Solomins and the Ustyuzhanins, who live in Yelan and have been feuding for as long as anyone can remember. The Solomins were relatively wealthy and the Ustyuzhanins poor.
The film begins in 1904. Afanasy "Afonya" Ustyuzhanin is an aging man who spends all of his waking hours chopping a corduroy road "anywhere away from Yelan". His young child Nikolai "Kolya" Ustyuzhanin (b. 1897) must fend for himself by stealing from the Solomins. He meets Rodion Klimentov, a revolutionary fugitive who inspires him, who is soon found by the police and taken away.
In 1917, Kolya continues to help his father build the road, which has become an epic project stretching many miles. He is in a romantic relationship with a hoyden, Anastasya "Nastya" Solomina, but a quarrel about the revolution infuriates Nastya, who immediately seeks out Philip Solomin, kisses him, and demands marriage. (It is implied that Philip had previously had a non-reciprocated interest in her, and believes at first he is being mocked.) As the wedding preparations begin, Kolya begs for forgiveness, but Nastya savors the revenge. Kolya fights with the Solomins and is beaten and cast adrift down the river. At the end of the ceremony, Nastya makes a defiant gesture to Philip, apparently making clear that she will not be his either, despite having married him. He later finds her hiding in a barn; he fights and partially strips her, and then lets her go. She leaves to join an unconscious Kolya. Meanwhile Afonya (still chopping) falls asleep, drunk, on an ant nest and dies alone.
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