Based on the novel “In the town of Berdichev” by Vassily Grossman. In the Ukraine in 1920 during the Russian Civil War, a weary commissar (political officer) finds that she is pregnant. The home of a poor Jewish tinker and his family is requisitioned for her confinement. Mutual suspicion gives way to warmer emotions. The commissar and her new baby become part of his extended family. With flashbacks, a surrealistic dream sequence and grim fantasy, the simple story is given a wider perspective as a meditation on Jewish suffering.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
305167
Language
Russian
Subject categories
Feature films → Feature films - Soviet Union
History → Soviet Union - History - Revolution, 1917-1921
Literature → Russian literature - Film and video adaptations
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Black and White
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)