Five Favorites: Communist Bloc Edition

Been a while since I did one of these lists, but I was listening to some music in the car, which reminded me of a movie I love, and well,...things sort of rolled from there.  So without further ado, I present five favorites of the Slavic/Communist Bloc variety.

~1~

The CD I was listening to in the car was La Vent Du Nord's Dans Les Airs.  They are actually a French-Canadian folk group, but it suddenly occurred to me that several tracks remind me of the soundtrack to one of my favorite Russian films (see #2).  I've really enjoyed this album in the past few months.  I took a break for Lent, but I sometimes need a break from Lenten music in the middle of the season.

~2~

One of my favorite Russian movies is Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears.  It is from the early 1980s, and it follows a group of friends for about 20 years, starting in the mid-1960s.  I find so many things about the storylines compelling, and I realize that it is a fairly sunny view of life in the Soviet Union, but I've also seen some of that life lived out, so there is some truth there as well.  I think some of what I like about the film is that everything seems so familiar somehow.

~3~

I can't really mention Russian films and not talk about Ostrov (The Island).  I was fortunate to be in Russia on a month-long language study when it was in theaters there, and was able to see it twice in Russian.  I missed some of the details, owing to my own less than stellar language skills, but I really loved the film.  I was grateful to watch it again with English subtitles about a year later when it came to the States.  

~4~

I have to mention another favorite film that I've written about on the blog before, long ago: Zelary.  It is in Czech (with a little German thrown in here and there) and it is just so wonderful on so many levels.  It technically takes place before the Communists took over, but I still think it belong in this list, and since its my list, I can do what I want to.  (nana-nana-boo-boo).  I think the best part for me is the picture of old-world village life--the simplicity and complexity of human relationships in a small intimate setting.  I like that it doesn't romanticize the people who live in small villages, but yet the richness of human connection is very present.  Plus it is a cracking good story.

~5~

And finally, Slavenka Draculic's How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed.  She is writing from Yugoslavia/Croatia in the 1980s, and she captures so much of what I find fascinating about Soviet life.  It is light and readable, with many personal touches and lots of dark humor, which I enjoy.

~Bonus~

I have a handful of German films from the Communist period (or about it) that I really love:

Goodbye, Lenin!, Barbara, The Lives of Others, and The Promise.

***

There are obviously many other books and films about Russia, the Soviet Union, and the former Communist bloc countries that I would recommend, but this is my short list.

Linking with Jenna for Five Favorites!