Lermontov

Mikhail Lermontov (1814 -1841) was a contemporary of Alexander Pushkin and, like Pushkin, a founder of modern Russian literature. Both used the normal colloquial Russian spoken by the people, unlike previous authors whose writing was affected and did not resemble the Russian in common use. Both influenced not only literature but the language itself.

Lermontov was a prolific and popular writer of verse and prose, among the latter the novel A Hero of our Times, which attained wide recognition and attracted attention to his other works. This film is not a movie about Lermontov; if classified it would be as a documentary, although of a somewhat unusual form. Actors in costume act episodes of Lermontov's life in settings of the period, while a narrator gives us the information necessary to understand the playacting. This alternates with segments where his writing (letters, prose, poetry) is put on screen by an invisible hand, sketches of people and places come to life gradually and magically and mysterious inkblots extend, disappear or morph into silhouettes that tell a tale. These episodes add to our interpretation of the reenacted segments.

This format has been used and perfected in many other documentaries in Russian television and works well here. The result is a very watchable, entertaining film which gives us a reasonably complete account of Lermontov's life since infancy to death (like Pushkin, Lermontov met his end in a senseless duel).