There are no men left in the high mountain village of North Ossetia – they went to the front of World War II. The women try to believe in the best, but still they cry, and their howls are intertwined with the wind. Sons abandoned by their fathers turn into protectors: they may not be able to save the village, but at least they will try to save their mothers. Out of concern, two brothers, Bechyr (Maxim Karaev) and Dzambul (Zaurbek Aboev), persuade Ilas (Dzambolat Dzutsev), a teenage postman, to hide the funeral until the end of the war. Probably also because they don’t want to read their father’s name in the letters.
Still from the film “Seven Black Papers”
Pictures about heroism outside the defensive lines, as a rule, differ in tone from front-line films: in the interpretation of director Anatoly Koliev, a white lie can become courage. Instead of victory, the viewer waits for tragedy, which deepens the colors and still takes its toll in the end. Yesterday’s children turn into mature men, talking about death and destiny. “Seven Black Papers” shifts the focus from heroes who crave victory to ordinary citizens who must endure the grief of loss. The location of the action echoes the plot: near the village of Kamunta there are burial grounds, and in the village of Dargavs there is a crypt “City of the Dead”, consisting of battle towers. Even if you rise 2000 meters above sea level, death will follow people.
The figure of the director is striking: Anatoly Koliev is the screenwriter of the series “Inspector Gavrilov”, “Daddy’s Daughters. New” and “Two Hills”, and suddenly the creator of one of the most poignant films about the war in recent years. The film was supported by well-known filmmakers in the industry – Klim Shipenko was the artistic director, and Eduard Iloyan became one of the producers.
Still from the film “Seven Black Papers”
Pictures with a clearly defined nationality are increasingly appearing on the screen: the Ossetian language in which the film is shot and the Nart epic embedded in the plot strengthens the identity – the old sage Kudzi speaks about it in the hope of passing on and protecting traditions. He teaches Bechyr to turn grief into beauty through playing the fandyr – so the sounds of the instrument accompany the roar of the wind throughout the film. It is with beauty that Koliev is trying to either confuse or calm down: it seems that there are no such well-groomed villages where all the residents are preparing to meet tragedy on the doorstep. But cinematographer Rysbek Bokeev creates each scene as if it were the last night before dawn – you only have to blink and it will be gone, so you have to do your best to watch and remember it.
Still from the film “Seven Black Papers”
Mesmerizing views feed a feeling of hopelessness: the residents are about to have nothing left but clear skies and endless space. The funerals are trying to force their way into the village, like a pack of wolves – every week there are more and more of them, and it is impossible to fight back without losses. Koliev managed to capture the numbness of the horror of death, which a person cannot cope with, despite the entire path of evolution. The mountains froze, and along with them the women and the elderly will freeze, for whom the victory of brave men will only bring suffering.
The release of the film on May 9 is practically a manifesto calling for the abandonment of loud heroics in the name of quiet grief. Bechyr compares people to moths who know that they are destined to fly into the fire and die – someone just rushes into the flame faster. We would like to believe that someday good news will come to the distant village on the mountain, but history is silent about this and puts a tragic end to it.
Text:
Naya Guseva
Tags: review film Black Papers tragedy loss highmountain village
