USSR 1927, 68 minutes, Olga Preobrazhenskaya, Ivan Pravov (director), Veronica Otto (cello, voice and many more)
With the film "The Women of Ryazan", the Schönberg Music Summer presents a Soviet silent film drama from 1927, which celebrated great success not only in the country where it was made, but also internationally as a feminist masterpiece. It was directed by Olga Preobrazhenskaya and is about women striving for emancipation in rural Russia before and during the First World War.
The film tells the story of Anna and Vasilisa: while Vasilisa's father disapproves of her love for a poor blacksmith, he also allows the equally poor Anna to marry his son. When war breaks out, the two young men are conscripted. Vasilisa finds a purpose in life by setting up an orphanage, but Anna suffers greatly from the separation from her partner and waits desperately for news. Time passes and with it the hope of a reunion. Anna's plight is exploited...
The film sheds light on the disenfranchised situation of women in pre-revolutionary Russian society and is at the same time an anti-war film without showing the war as such. Its realistic portrayal as well as the vivid characters, the detailed scenery and the great acting performances contributed to its success.
