While kids may not be clamoring for what is, in effect, a children's art film (with subtitles, yet!), discriminating young viewers may have their eyes opened by this charming, but not sentimental, tale of diminutive, seven-year-old Sasha, who is bullied by the other children for playing the violin ("musician," they taunt him), but befriended by Sergei, a construction worker who pilots a red steamroller. Before the bittersweet conclusion, Sasha memorably plays a song for Sergei, and Sergei empowers Sasha by letting him drive the steamroller (even though the boy is still trounced--off-screen--when he tries to stop a bully from picking on a smaller child). While much of the symbolism (an old building being torn down to make way for a gleaming new Russia) will be lost on young viewers, their hearts will certainly go out to Sasha. Sporting images that approach visual poetry in their abstract and surreal beauty, this 1960 film will be of special interest to cinema buffs, as it was the "diploma film" of Andrei Tarkovsky, director of Solaris (currently being remade by Steven Soderbergh) and The Sacrifice. Highly recommended. (K. Lee Benson)
The Steamroller and the Violin
Facets, 43 min., in Russian with English subtitles, not rated, VHS or DVD: $24.95 Volume 17, Issue 5
The Steamroller and the Violin
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: