18 BALLADA O SOLDATE [russIAn: BALLADA O SOLDATE]
art reflecting “the con temporary relevance and beauty of Rus sia.” Though the Arts
Council found Ballad of a Soldier insufficiently patriotic, it allowed Chukhray to
proceed with the film’s production, “but without much enthusiasm” and on a slim
bud get. Following the lead of the cultural commissars, camerawoman Era Saveleyev
or ga nized members of the crew in refusing to work on the film because it contra-
dicted Khrushchev’s vaunted “socialist realism.” Unfazed, Chukhray replaced
Saveleyev with Vladimir Nikolayev, hired a new crew, and proceeded to make the
film, which starred two young, unknown actors in the lead roles.Plot Summary
A peasant woman wanders through her village and glances down a dirt road while
a voice- over informs viewers that the woman’s son was killed during the war and
buried far from his home. Cut to the battlefront as a scared 19- year- old private
named Alexei Nikolayevich Skvortsov (Vladimir Ivashov) singlehandedly knocks
out two German panzers with a PTRS-41 anti- tank rifle. His commanding gen-
eral (Nikolay Kryuchkov) tries to award him a medal, but Alyosha requests a visit
to his mother and their homestead, which is in need of repairs. Alyosha is allowed
a six- day reprieve and journeys home: a trip that reveals to him the utter devasta-
tion caused by the war. When Alyosha tries to gain passage on an army supply
train, he is stopped by Gavrilkin (Alexandr Kuznetsov), a sentry. Alyosha bribes
Gavrilkin with a can of beef and is allowed to board the freight car. A young woman
named Shura (Zhanna Prokhorenko) sneaks on to the train as well, but the sight
of Alyosha terrifies her and Alyosha has to stop her from trying to jump off the
speeding train. She eventually reveals that she is heading to visit her fiancé, a pi lot
who has been hospitalized. Soon Shura loses her fear and warms up to Alyosha,
but Gavrilkin discovers her, initiating another bribe from Alyosha. Surprisingly,
when the lieutenant (Yevgeny Teterin) becomes aware of the stowaways, he allows
them to remain on the train and even goes so far as to force Gavrilkin to return
his bribe. At one stop, when Alyosha disembarks for water, the train moves on with-
out him on board. A female trucker (Valentina Telegrina) gives him a ride to the
next station, but he arrives to find that he has already missed the train. However,
Shura is at the station, waiting for him. After completing an errand for a friend,
Shura and Alyosha part ways. During their goodbyes, Shura reveals that she has
been lying— she has no other man to visit. As his train pulls away, Alyosha real-
ized that Shura’s confession was one of love. His train is then halted by a bombed
bridge and subsequently attacked by German Stuka dive- bombers. In desperation,
Alyosha takes a raft across the river and hitches a ride home to his village of Sos-
novka. Alyosha is only able to visit with his dear mother for a few moments before
he has to return to the frontlines. His mother is determined to wait for him to return
once again. A voice- over confirms that although he had potential, Alyosha will
always be remembered, simply, as a Rus sian soldier and nothing more.Reception
Vladimir Surin, director- general of Mosfilm, didn’t like Ballad of a Soldier because
it depicted the Soviet Army without the usual heroic solemnity, showed a woman