Chapaev

This movie was a hit with the Russian public because there was a storyline for them to follow that involved individual characters. Russian moviegoers did not like previous films because they lacked characters that they could attach themselves to. Chapaev offered them a war hero (Chapaev), a brave, intelligent woman (Anka), and a friendly, loyal Soviet soldier (Petka) to become enamored with. In addition, the movie was based on a Bolshevik general that had actually existed – and achieved a nearly mythological status – and the sound made the storyline easy for the audience to follow.

Sound proved to be a fantastic feature that this movie did a spectacular job of utilizing. The dialogue between characters was better at conveying the emotions and feelings of the characters. A silent film would not have been able to have portrayed the complex relationship that Chapaev and Commissar Furmanov shared. There was also a lot of singing in the movie. Singing has long been a favorite means of entertainment for Russians so the fact that songs were in Chapaev would have seemingly been to the audience’s liking. Jokes and the battle sounds – such as gunshots and explosions – probably reached the audience more effectively because they were done with sound. Quite frankly, the sound was essential to this movie’s success with the Russian public.

With the aid of emotionally charged dialogue, one could not help but get the feeling that Furmanov immediately liked Chapaev. The highly educated Furmanov was taken with the brilliant simplicity of Chapaev’s mind and his bravery on the battlefield. However, Chapaev initially did not approve of Furmanov. He thought that Furmanov was just another unhelpful commissar sent to him by his superiors that would get in his way. Chapaev was irate when Furmanov challenged his authority by placing an officer under his command in prison. However, Furmanov eventually won Chapaev over by demonstrating that he too was a gifted leader.

Petka had no problem with anybody. He was definitely the hero of this film because he gave his life to give Anka and Chapaev time to escape the overwhelming White Army. Petka was compassionate in regard to his fellow man, friendly, and loyal. Chapaev knew that he could always depend on Petka and entrusted him with important missions. Anka admired Petka for his bravery and relied on him to teach her about weaponry. Petka was the ultimate example of what a Soviet should be. He was honest, simple, brave, friendly, funny, loyal, and moral.

The Reds were all portrayed as having at least some of the qualities of Petka. However, the Whites had none of the traits that he possessed. White Army officers lived a luxurious lifestyle, were snobbish, and refused to part from the ‘old ways’. Perhaps that character that embodied the characteristics of the White Army the most was Colonel Borozdin. His shocking treatment of his muzhik bodyguard – considering how often he had served with him in combat – undoubtedly made him a character that the audience could hate. There must have been cheers from the audience every time they witnessed the cruel Borozdin cut down by his muzhik bodyguard at the end of the movie.