The Extraordinary Mr. Barnet
Long hailed by critics to be the father of Soviet comedy and an inspiration to greats such as Tarkovsky and Bertolucci, Boris Barnet has remained unknown to Western audiences. That is, until now! This first-ever retrospective of Barnet’s work in North America introduces many exciting archival and newly subtitled prints. Characterized by their charm, stylistic freedom, ‘American’ plot constructions, and sometimes neutral politics, Barnet’s films represented what was a daring approach within Russian cinema, one which controversially set him apart from Eisenstein, Vertov and other contemporaries.

The Extraordinary Mr. Barnet is presented in collaboration with Seagull Films and with assistance of Russian State Film Archive and Confederation of Filmmakers Unions. Special thanks are due to Nikolay Borodachev and Neya Zorkaya.

The House on Trubnaya Square (Dom na Trubnoj) (1928) 64min
Tue, Dec 2 at 7:30pm*
*Live piano accompaniment by Donald Sosin
Directed by Boris Barnet
With Vera Maretskaya,Vladimir Fogel
This pointed comedy about the tensions of class in an emerging urban landscape follows the story of Parasha, a domestic servant girl, who finds romance and political consciousness upon moving to Moscow. Barnet had six scriptwriters collaborate to create this most entertaining work, which surely deserves its unofficial title of best Soviet silent comedy ever.

Dark is the Night (Odnazhdy nochyu) (1945) 81min
Thu, Dec 4 at 6:50, 9:10pm
Directed by Boris Barnet
With Boris Andreyev, Boris Barnet
This film, with Barnet as actor and director, was thought to be long lost before its rediscovery only a decade ago. Shot in 1944, it allegorically tells the story of a patriotic Russian schoolgirl who, upon witnessing the German invasion of her hometown, helps to hide several Russian soldiers amidst the real life ruins of war-torn Stalingrad. Daring in its portrayal of a defiant Russian community and of the consequences of such resistance.

Okraina (1932) 98min
Mon, Dec 8 at 4:30, 6:50, 9:10pm
Directed by Boris Barnet
With Aleksandr Chistyakov, Sergei Komarov
Barnet’s first foray into sound, Okraina is a remarkable anti-war effort which stands apart from the socialist realist films of the same period. At once intimate and epic, Okraina tells a finely woven WWI tale of a friendship forged between a Russian sniper and a German POW. The rich visual and narrative juxtapositions create a mirror of subversive but poignant irony through which this humanist story is reflected.

The Girl with the Hat Box (Devushka s korobkoi) (1927) 70min
Tue, Dec 9 at 7:30pm*
*Live piano accompaniment by Donald Sosin. Followed by symposium on Barnet’s legacy.
Directed by Boris Barnet
With Anna Sten, Vladimir Fogel
A romantic comedy marking Barnet’s successful solo directorial debut. Natasha (Anna Sten) divides her time working in town at a bourgeois couple’s hat shop, tending to her elderly grandfather, and fending off a neighboring suitor. Upon meeting Ilya, a handsome student with nowhere to stay, the plot immediately thickens, and an uproarious love triangle ensues.

By the Bluest of Seas (U samovo sinyego morya) (1936) 71min
Wed, Dec. 10 at 4:30, 6:50*, 9:10pm
*Cinemachat with film critic Elliott Stein
Directed by Boris Barnet
With Nikolai Kryuchlov, Yelena Kuzmina, Elena Kouzmina
One of the films revered by French filmmakers such as Godard and Otar Iosseliani, this marvelous picture, a spontaneous and joyful romantic comedy shot at eye-popping locations, stars the delicious Elena Kouzmina as a bouncy island beauty wooed by two young shipwrecked Caspian fisherman. And it’s more fun than Alexander Nevsky.

Alenka (1961) 88min
Thu, Dec 11 at 4:30, 6:50, 9:10pm
Directed by Boris Barnet
With Natalya Ovadova, Irina Zarubina
Barnet’s penultimate film is set in 1955, when many migrated from Russia to settle parts of Kazakhstan. While on their journey through the Steppe, the titled character and other travelers recount their memoirs, which are cinematically articulated through experiments in narration, temporality and animation.

Bountiful Summer (Shchedroye leto) (1951) 86min
Mon, Dec 15 at 4:30, 6:50, 9:10pm
Directed by Boris Barnet
With Nina Arkhipova, Nikolai Kryuchlov
Part comedy, part propaganda, this film tells the story of a utopian Ukrainian commune, complete with cattle, rolling wheat fields, and attractive peasant protagonists who periodically break out into song and dance. Set immediately after WWII, Bountiful Summer uses infectious charm and humor to wrestle with politics and love.

The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr. West in the Land of the Bolsheviks
(Neobychainye priklyucheniya mistera Vesta v strane bolshevikov) (1924) 94min
Tue, Dec 16 at 7:30pm*
*Live piano accompaniment by Donald Sosin
Directed by Lev Kuleshov
With Porfiri Podobed, Boris Barnet, Vsevolod Pudovkin
In this madcap mockery of US-Russian relations, Kuleshov directs two of his Collective Workshop actor-cum-directors: Barnet is Cowboy Jeddy, a bodyguard sent to protect a visiting American, opposite Pudovkin, who plays a Russian bandit intent on robbing the American. Scholar Denise Youngblood has labeled this film “the finest comedy of the decade.”

The Outskirts (Okraina) (1989) 95min
Thu, Dec 18 at 4:30, 6:50, 9:10pm
Directed by Pyotr Lutsik
With Yuri Dubrovin, Nikolai Olvalin
Inspired by and loosely based on Barnet’s film of the same name, Lutsik creates an allegorical world that serves both as a commentary on the state of Russian filmmaking, and a tribute to the 1930s formalist style. A group of peasants riot after discovering that their land has been sold from under them, but a group of town leaders fight back by taking aim at the capitalists.