© 2024 Pavel Konyukhov |
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Dad (Papa) by Vladimir Mashkov |
Here is my review of a very emotional and sincere film, “Papa” (“Dad”) by V. Mashkov. It takes place in 1929, in the small town of Tulchin in the Ukraine. Abram Schwarz is an old man who works as a chief in a warehouse, and his son, David Schwartz is a schoolboy during the period of the first five-year plan, a patriot and a dreamer. The dad, Abram, wants his son to become a great violinist and play Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in a large concert hall somewhere, and afterwards he will say to everyone, “I am great because of my dad.” Such a dream is typical of people from the Jewish community. |
David likes to play the violin but he also doesn’t like missing out on having fun with the other boys – playing football or dare-devil games. But his dad, a drunkard and a swindler, forces him to play boring exercises and etudes on the violin. Because of this David doesn’t like his father very much and he dreams of getting away from dusty Tulchin to the fresh air of Moscow. Finally the dad achieved his dream: David became a student at the Moscow Conservatory and gave concerts. But the father didn’t get to see his son’s success in person. He worked hard to earn money to give to his beloved son. He tried to accumulate a little more so that he could visit his son as a surprise. But does a great violinist need to see a ridiculous and slovenly dad from the provinces? No; the dad made a fool of himself and did not know how to behave in the company of his son’s sophisticated friends. Then came the Great War and David served in the war as an officer. He becomes injured and gets a concussion. He is seen in a hospital train with gangrene in his arm. He is delirious and imagines he is having a calm talk with his father who, however, had been murdered by the fascists in a Jewish ghetto. This is a touching film, which I recommend that you see. Vladimir Mashkov as the dad is very convincing, as he was in a similar role in another good movie, “The Thief”.
Pavel Konyukhov
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