The Law of Life
"Student ideals collide with party excess"
Keys: Space play/pause · ←/→ 10s · F fullscreen · M mute · </> speed
About this film
About the life of Soviet students. A group of students-graduates of a medical institute organizes a farewell party. The secretary of the regional Komsomol committee unexpectedly appears and starts openly agitating sexual promiscuity. The party turns into an ugly drunkenness.
Cast & crew
More Drama films
View all →
More about this film
About the production
Release date1940
ProductionMosfilm
The film's described content involving sexual promiscuity and drunkenness at a Komsomol gathering would have been highly unusual and controversial for Soviet cinema in 1940, as such themes were typically heavily censored or prohibited during this era of Stalinist cultural control.
Themes
Themes & topics
Historical background
The Law of Life appeared in 1940, when wartime and immediate postwar filmmaking shaped how movies were financed, distributed, and discussed. Audiences of the day encountered the work amid shifting tastes in acting, pacing, and spectacle. Its focus on about the life of soviet students mirrors themes circulating in popular culture of that moment.
Why this film matters
The Law of Life (1940) belongs to the wider archive of world cinema, documenting about the life of soviet students. a group. Archivists and historians value such titles for what they reveal about craft, genre, and audience expectations. Restorations and festival screenings keep the work visible to viewers far beyond its first run.
Making of
Very limited information is available about the production of this film. The described content suggests it would have faced significant challenges with Soviet censorship authorities. Films from this period required approval from multiple state bodies before production could begin, and any content deemed ideologically problematic would have been rejected or heavily modified.
What critics said
Press coverage from 1940 is fragmentary for many titles of this vintage; surviving notices for The Law of Life tend to stress novelty, star power, or topical appeal. Later writing places the picture within its national and generic context, weighing both period conventions and moments that still land for modern viewers. Streaming and disc releases have revived discussion among classic-film audiences.
Did you know?
- The film's premise involving a Komsomol secretary promoting sexual promiscuity would have been extremely controversial in 1940 Soviet cinema
- Soviet films of this period were subject to strict censorship by Glavlit (Main Administration for Literary and Publishing Affairs)
- 1940 was during the height of Stalin's cultural control over cinema, making such content unlikely to have been approved
- The film appears to address themes of youth morality and Soviet values, common in socialist realism cinema
- Medical students were frequently portrayed in Soviet cinema as ideal representatives of the new Soviet intelligentsia
Memorable scenes
- The farewell party scene where the Komsomol secretary's unexpected arrival changes the atmosphere of the gathering
What audiences thought
No information is available about audience reception. If the film was released with the described content intact, it would have been unusual for Soviet audiences of the time, who were accustomed to films promoting idealized Soviet values.
Film restoration
The preservation status of this film is unknown. Many Soviet films from this period have been lost or are only partially preserved, particularly those that may have been controversial or withdrawn from circulation.
Where to watch
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcL4VWh4SmI
- Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1940%20%D0%97%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BD%20%D0%B6%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%BD%D0%B8.webm