"Prostitutka" (1927) By Oleg Frelikh
Ferdinand Von Galitzien
its subject matter, that being prostitution in the U.S.S.R. The
world’s oldest profession requires a treatment both delicate and
balanced, not an easy topic for a first time director like Herr Oleg
Frelikh. Actually, this little known work was Frelikh’s only film as
a director (prior to this, he had been an actor) and it’s a flawed but
interesting effort.
The film was the first production of the national studio
“Byelgoskino” one of the newest studios of that time in the U.S.S.R.;
indeed it was a company every bit as green as Herr Frelikh and this
shows in the fragmented, sometimes chaotic film composition which
lacks narrative cohesion. In spite of these problems, the first part
of the film is most interesting, depicting the social conditions and
the causes that lead our heroine, Liuka ( Frau Olga Bonus ) to sell
her body. The social conditions she endures and the characters she
encounters are credible. There is poverty and misery but also
redemption. It seems that the consequences and causes of
prostitution in the U.S.R.R. are very similar in their origins to the
rest of the world, although there is additional suffering for the
Russian prostitutes because of the cold and snowy streets; a hard
place to offer oneself in the open air..
But the film also includes those techniques that the old
U.S.S.R. silent films liked so much: statistics and harangues. So
this means that, in the middle of the film while our heroine is trying
to start a new life as a seamstress, she gets the chance to hear a
lecture about prostitution, complete with graphs, numbers and
percentages. These are intertwined with a long-winded speech about the
social conditions that cause prostitution and the remedies to avoid
such problems; thus the film turns into a kind of bulletin from the
U.S.S.R.’s Ministry of Health And Family Welfare. That all may be very
interesting in terms of historical and social content but it does not
belong in a fictional movie.
“Prostitutka” is a Russian oddity that deserves some attention for
its open treatment of the prostitution problem but Herr Frelikh’s
erratic direction does not live up to the good intentions of the film
which in the end is an uneasy mixture of drama and indoctrination.
And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because
this German Count must sell his charms to the highest bidder.
Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien
http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com/
michaelshat
I love the scene where the fat ugly old tart tells the handsome hero
to 'get lost' and boxes his ears because he told her she'd seen better
days. The final battle on the ice sequence is also impressive:
apparently it was shot at or near the real frozen-over river in St
Petersburg (Leningrad). The effect of seeing the actors' breath was
achieved by getting them to drink hot tea before shooting.
Old Movie Fan
>The effect of seeing the actors' breath was
> achieved by getting them to drink hot tea
> before shooting.
I had to laugh when I read this because (in early silent films), I'm
always seeing the actors' breath when I shouldn't, and not seeing it
when I should.
It's usually quite comical. Makes me think about their awful working
conditions back then.
Rich Wagner
Ferdinand Von Galitzien
Lieber Herr Michaelshat, this Herr Graf appreciates very much your
information and opinions about "Prostitutka" because there is not much
information about this film in the Schloss silent library, don't
forgetting that Herr Wagner's ruminations are also very appreciated...