22 November 2024.
By Neptune
NAÎTRE SVETLANA STALINE **** (vo French, English, Russian)
This documentary by Swiss journalist and director Gabriel Tejedor, about the rich yet tragic life of Stalin’s daughter, is a vivid, personal ride through 20th century history.
Born in 1926, Svetlana was raised like a princess at the height of Stalin’s years of power. The only daughter and the youngest child of Stalin, the powerful dictator doted upon her in her early years. But as she grew into maturity and started to find friends in intellectual circles and married a Jewish man, she began to displease her father.
As a strong-headed woman, she started to revolt against many of the strictures of the Communist party. This film is an eye-opener on her life, which took many turns and ups-and-downs, culminating with the fateful day in 1967 when she defected to the United States from a visit to India. It was not to be an easy transition as there were many political and diplomatic hurdles. She actually spent quite a few months in Switzerland while waiting for permission to enter the U.S.
All this and much more is covered in this meticulous documentary which shows how she sacrificed her relationship with her two children in her thirst for freedom. She had thought they would come to join her in the West when things settled down, but she was to be bitterly disappointed. Through interviews, graphics and personal vintage material, the film depicts with clarity and sensitivity her various affairs, husbands, career attempts, mismanagement of the fortune she earned from her book and her sad end.
This is a fine example of an essential documentary, both informative and gripping.
DIAMANT BRUT ** (vo French)
Here’s a tale of a girl adrift whose only dream is to be famous. And how else but through web postings and the growth of her ‘followers’ to achieve her goal – at 19 – of becoming a star on a TV reality show.
A careless, good-for-nothing mother; a dress code and makeup that make her look like a streetwalker; a little sister who admires and mimics her; and constant doubts about her abilities which are frankly limited except for her youth and flashy looks – that is her life. Is this the dilemma of youngsters today who have no emotional or moral support from their families? Is this what social media and influencers are doing to our sheeplike society? Is this what the director Agathe Riedinger is trying to portray?
This genre of films (like the recent “How to Have Sex” or the 2016 “Girl Lost”) shows how many young girls today have little self-respect or basic knowledge of a decent life. Such stories bring their teen audience nothing but some titillation and bad influence. And they can become a too-influential, vicious cycle, like the violent video games for boys.
The positive side of the coin for such themes would be the bittersweet Carey Mulligan film from 2009, “An Education”. Or going further back, the 1983 “Educating Rita”. Download those instead – they have depth and raison d’être, and won’t leave a sour taste in your mouth.
But that was then, and now is the disintegrating, media-heavy present.
Superb **** Very Good *** Good ** Mediocre * Miserable – no stars
By Neptune
Neptune Ravar Ingwersen reviews film extensively for publications in Switzerland. She views 4 to 8 films a week and her aim is to sort the wheat from the chaff for readers.
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