Russian directors never disappointed me when it comes to directing a good coming-of-age drama. Galina Daneliya-Yurkova left her distinctive mark on Frantsuz – creating a real cinematic experience for its viewers.
Frantsuz is one of those films I had heard a lot before I got a chance to watch it. The film is an adaptation of the novel ” Waiting for a Goat ” ( “V ozhidanii kozy“) written by Yevgeni Dubrovin – one of the best novelists in Russian literature. The story is set in the post-military town in the Soviet Union. Victor,12 and Vlad,7 are two free-spirited brothers who live alone with their mother. The father has been gone for many years and they have been told by their mother that died at the front defending their homeland. He has been described by her as “a very strong man with an iron character who worked as a blacksmith”
One night their father shows up. It turns out that he had been imprisoned in France during the war. He immediately starts his efforts to establish his fatherly authority seeing that his sons are being spoiled by their mother – the boys however earnestly counterbalance them. It comes to no surprise as his views of responsibility and discipline involve frequent whippings – he wants to make them hard-working and responsible – but Vlad and Victor and not too happy with the new arrangements :
” Forced labor, – I said – is widely used in ancient Romans and Greeks. It was called slavery. But in the future humanity knowingly waived it, as slave labor was a non-reliatively difficult to free man.
The phrase turned out to be very beautiful. My father even stopped to eat.
Well enough! – Father slapped a hand across the table. – Maybe so, but you should listen to your parents “
The brothers get a supporter in the face of their uncle who also returns from captivity. He convinces a Jewish chemist who liked his sister to make her a marriage proposal even if it is known that her husband is alive and is at home.
Frantsuz is a movie that can teach its viewers a lot of things. As you watch it you will gain the understanding that The relationship between children and parents should be built on the principles of equality and mutual respect.
The acting in the film was good – and aside from the very young protagonists Yuri Zvyagintsev and Aleksandr Biryukov I enjoyed the performance of Sergei Shakurov in the role of the father. He was very convincible in the role of strict father which almost made me want to join the pact of the boys ( myself being spoiled as well ) .
Frantsuz like many other Russian films from that time was slightly military-themed – which only made it more enjoyable to watch. A similar movie is The Return ( original name Vozvrashcheniye) which can be summarized as ” The plot seems simple at first- two boys meet their father for the first time after 12 years absence ” – if interested you can read its review which I wrote about a year ago at theskykid.com . Both films get a high recommendation from me and I would be thankful if you share your views on them in the comments below!
The book “V ozhidanii kozy” is available for free at Lib.ru
———————————————————————————————————————————————
This review would have not been possible without the valuable support of CVMC: The oldest movie rental service on the Internet — since 1998. Specializing in hard-to-find & rare films from around the world. I would like to thank them for supporting theSkyKid.com by providing the DVD of Frantsuz. Check out the film`s page site at the CVMC.net