The Peasant Women of Ryazan
About The Peasant Women of Ryazan
In a Ryazan village in the spring of 1914, farmer Vasilii Shironin marries his son Ivan to Anna and tries to stop his daughter Vasilisa from living with the blacksmith Nicolai. Both young men are drafted, and while Ivan is gone Vasilii rapes Anna and a child is born. Nicolai returns after the revolution and Vasilisa is given a mansion for an orphanage, but when Ivan comes home and sees the child he turns away. Anna throws herself in the river. Vasilisa tells Ivan to ask his father why, and carries the child to the orphanage.
Cast & crew
More about The Peasant Women of Ryazan
Olga Preobrazhenskaya directed, with Ivan Pravov as co-director. Boris Altshuler and Olga Vishnevskaya wrote it. This is Preobrazhenskaya's fourth feature.
Themes
Reviews
Bryher called Women of Ryazan the most moral film she had ever seen.
Look
Konstantin Kuznetsov shot the village scenes in Ryazan.
Music
Silent, with Russian intertitles.
Preservation
The 67-minute version circulated for the Flicker Alley anthology. MoMA has shown an Eye Filmmuseum distribution copy running 68 minutes.
Notes
- Kuzma Yastrebitsky plays Vasilii, Georgi Bobynin plays Ivan, Raisa Puzhnaya plays Anna, and Emma Tsesarskaya plays Vasilisa.
- Olga Narbekova plays Matveena. Yelena Maksimova plays the widow Lukerya.
- A second timing of 88 minutes is also attached to the title. The Wikipedia running time is 67 minutes.
- Flicker Alley put it on Early Women Filmmakers: An International Anthology, a Blu-ray and DVD, on 9 May 2017.
- The Dictionary of Films notes a considerable success in the Soviet Union and abroad.
Scenes
- Vasilisa leaves home with Nicolai without a formal marriage.
- Ivan returns, sees the child, and does not comfort Anna.
- Vasilisa carries the child away to the orphanage.
Also available
- Flicker Alley Early Women Filmmakers: An International Anthology (Blu-ray/DVD, 2017)
