A Simple Case (1930)
As a response to criticism for the allegedly excessive “mass appeal” of his earlier epic STORM OVER ASIA (1928), Vsevolod Pudovkin unleashed his flair for experimentation in what was supposed to be the director’s first sound feature. Everything went wrong: technical problems forced him to complete the film as a silent; viewers were baffled by the lack of a recognizable plot; then, the ideological climate of the Soviet Union changed. He was now being blamed for catering to bourgeois taste! Time has come to set the record straight. Here’s lyrical cinema at its best, deliberately operatic and yet intimate as it matches the characters’ inner life with the solemn rhythms of nature, and depicted through breathtaking black-and-white photography. A sensation at last year’s Pordenone fest, Pudovkin’s long-forgotten swan song to the art of montage is resurrected by Gabriel Thibaudeau’s emotionally charged live music performance. –PCU (USSR, 1930, 75m)
Cast
- Aleksandr Baturin - Langovoy
- Yevgeniya Rogulina - Mashenka
- Mariya Belousova - Girl
- Andrei Gorchilin - Worker
- Anna Chekulaeva - Worker's wife
- Ivan Novoseltsev - Vasya
- Aleksandr Chistyakov - Uncle Sasha
- V. Kuzmich - Zhyoltikov
- Afanasiy Byelov - Grisha
- Vladimir Uralskiy - Wounded soldier
Screenplay
- Alexandr Rzheshevsky (Screenplay)
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is A Simple Case about?
- As a response to criticism for the allegedly excessive “mass appeal” of his earlier epic STORM OVER ASIA (1928), Vsevolod Pudovkin unleashed his flair for experimentation in what was supposed to be the director’s first sound feature. Everything went wrong: technical problems forced him to complete the film as a silent; viewers were baffled by the lack of a recognizable plot; then, the ideological climate of the Soviet Union changed. He was now being blamed for catering to bourgeois taste! Time has come to set the record straight. Here’s lyrical cinema at its best, deliberately operatic and yet intimate as it matches the characters’ inner life with the solemn rhythms of nature, and depicted through breathtaking black-and-white photography. A sensation at last year’s Pordenone fest, Pudovkin’s long-forgotten swan song to the art of montage is resurrected by Gabriel Thibaudeau’s emotionally charged live music performance. –PCU (USSR, 1930, 75m)
- Who directed A Simple Case?
- A Simple Case was directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin.
- Who stars in A Simple Case?
- A Simple Case stars Aleksandr Baturin, Yevgeniya Rogulina, Mariya Belousova, Andrei Gorchilin, Anna Chekulaeva, Ivan Novoseltsev.
- How long is A Simple Case?
- A Simple Case has a runtime of 1h 15m (75 minutes).
- What genre is A Simple Case?
- A Simple Case is a Romance, Drama film.
- Where was A Simple Case produced?
- A Simple Case was produced in Soviet Union.