MA-Course Russian Studies
The Historical Film of the Post-Soviet Period (1991-2009)
Historical films (“period films” or “costume dramas”) are extremely important in shaping popular perceptions of the past. Even if the genre tends to arouse suspicion among professional historians because of the “oversimplified” way in which it treats its subject matter, it cannot be denied that it is through film, rather than through solid scholarly writing that most people engage with history at all. The implications of this preference for film over serious historiography were not lost on such pioneers of world cinema as D.W. Griffith (Birth of a Nation, 1915) and Sergei Eisenstein (Battleship Potiomkin, 1925), whose successful, but highly tendentious films can be regarded as paradigmatic for the historical film as such. Although we have come to value these films as innovative works of art, their underlying purport to present a coherent and all-encompassing view of “how it all happened” is more than obvious. It is precisely this suggestion of “totality” and immediacy which makes historical films such a gold mine for anyone interested in the cultural context in which these films were produced.
In this course we look at the historical film of the post-Soviet period, particularly at films that deal with the Soviet past and the last years of the tsarist regime. In other words, how do Russian film makers confront Russia’s twentieth-century after the Soviet Union was dissolved? It is often assumed that Russians long back for the stability and the military power of the Soviet empire, but is nostalgia really the prevailing sentiment in Russian cinema after 1991? Can we not discern significant fluctuations in the nostalgic/ anti-nostalgic treatment of the Soviet past? Finally and more fundamentally, how does the ideological configuration of today’s Russia play out in films that deal with particularly sensitive topics such as the Civil War and WWII? Questions like these take on extra significance in light of recent legislation aimed at cleansing national history of any possible stains.
Program
In general, we watch and discuss one film per week. The discussion will also address the critical literature in the (electronic) reader. The films include, amongst others, Agony (Klimov, 1975-85), The Russia We Lost (Stanislav Govorukhin) Moscow Parade (Dykhovichnyi, 1993), Burnt by the Sun (Mikhalkov, 1994), A Driver for Vera (Chukhrai, 2004), Cargo 200 and Morphine (Balabanov, 2007 and 2008 Aleksei Balabanov) and The Lost Empire (Shakhnazarov, 2008). A definite list will be provided at the start of the course.
Language
Knowledge of the Russian language is not required. Reading material is in English, all the films have English or Dutch subtitles.
Course Objectives
To acquire specialized knowledge of the genre of the Russian historical film, specifically of its development since the late-Soviet period;
To gain a deeper understanding of the theoretical problems involved in engaging with history through film (as opposed to other relevant media such as historical novels and scholarly research);
To become better film viewers.
Contact
o.f.boele@hum.leidenuniv.nl
071-5272085