The cold summer of 53

Movie
German title	The cold summer of 53
Original title	Холодное лето пятьдесят третьего (Cholodnoje leto pjatdesjat tretjewo)
Country of production	USSR
original language	Russian
Publishing year	1987
length	97 minutes
Age rating	FSK 16
Rod
Director	Alexander Proshkin
script	Edgar Dubrowski
music	Vladimir Martynov
camera	Boris Brochovsky
cut	Yelena Mikhajlova
occupation
Valeri Prijomnichow as Lusga / Sergej Basargin Anatoli Papanow as Kopalytsch / Nikolaj Starobogatow (set to music by Igor Efimow) Viktor Stepanov as Mankow Nina Usatova as the deaf and mute Lidia Matveevna Soy Burjak as a shura Yuri Kuznetsov as Sotov authorized representative Vladimir Kashpur as the leader of the Fadeitsch attack Sergei Vlasow as Witek Boris Plotnikow as the son of Starobogatow Viktor Kozych Elishaveta Solodova Vladimir Golovin Alexei Kolesnik Andrei Dudarenko as bandit Michalytsch

The Cold Summer of 53 ( Russian Холодное лето пятьдесят третьего ) is a Soviet film from 1987. In this film, which was awarded the State Prize of the USSR two years later , the actor Anatoly Papanov played his last role before his death.

The film drama did not come to the GDR cinemas , it was only shown on the XVII. Festival of Soviet Film in Berlin (October 27 - November 3, 1988). On June 15, 1989, it was released in German cinemas under the title Kalter Sommer '53 .

action

In a remote Siberian village, two political prisoners are serving their long-term sentences: the former chief engineer Kopalytsch, and Lusga, a former leader of the field reconnaissance on the Belarusian front .

In 1953, the year Stalin died, Interior Minister Beria issued a major amnesty under which tens of thousands of criminals were released. As a result, crime rises sharply and the country finds itself in a critical position.

One day the village in which Kopalytsch and Lusga are serving their sentences is threatened by a gang of criminals who plan to kill all residents. The proud Lusga, although betrayed and humiliated by the rulers in his country, decides to risk his life and saves the villagers from the gang by liquidating all of the criminals.

In the final scene, shot in front of the buildings and in the park on Moscow's Jauzkij bul. 2/16, the Gulag survivors meet and recognize each other after their release, undetected by passers-by.

Reviews

"A film that, through its exciting story, expresses grief, revulsion and shame about the demons and abuse of power of the Stalin era, but also arouses hope for the renewing power of moral and political integration."

- Lexicon of international film

Web links

• The Cold Summer of 53 in the Internet Movie Database (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} The Cold Summer of 53 in the Lexicon of International Films , accessed on August 3, 2008