Konduit (1928) is a weirdly relatable school rebel movie

You should probably watch Konduit if you have ever sat in a classroom and felt like the walls were closing in on you. It is a 1928 movie from the Soviet Union, so yeah, it is silent and black and white, but the feeling of being a kid trapped under a mean teacher's thumb is pretty much the same today.

If you are the kind of person who needs explosions or people talking every five seconds to stay awake, you will absolutely hate this. It moves at its own pace, which is mostly 'slow' with bursts of 'wait, what just happened?'.

The Big Book of Sins

The movie gets its name from this thick black ledger called the Konduit. The teachers use it to write down every single tiny mistake the boys make.

I noticed one scene where a kid gets in trouble just for how he was standing. The teacher looks at him like he just committed a crime, and you can see the kid’s spirit just kind of... sink. It reminded me a bit of the heavy atmosphere in Barnaby Rudge, even though that is a totally different vibe.

The teachers all have these incredible, stiff mustaches. They look like they were glued on with anger. I kept waiting for one to fall off during a lecture, but they stayed put.

• The desks are huge and wooden.
• The uniforms look itchy as hell.
• Everyone spends a lot of time staring at walls.

There is this one actor, Ye. Borisevich, who has a great face for silent film. He doesn't have to do much, just widen his eyes a little bit and you know exactly how much he hates the math lesson.

The lighting is actually kind of cool in the school hallways. It is all dark shadows and sharp lines, making the whole building look like a giant trap. It’s not 'visually stunning' in a fancy way, it just looks like a place where fun goes to die.

Small Moments

I really liked a random shot of a fly crawling across a desk. I don't know if they planned that or if it just happened, but it made the scene feel real. It’s those tiny things that make you realize these were real people in a real room a hundred years ago.

The movie is based on a book by Lev Kassil, and you can tell it comes from someone who actually lived through this. It’s not just a 'history movie,' it feels like a collection of memories that someone finally got to vent about.

Sometimes the editing gets a bit choppy. One minute they are in a classroom, and then suddenly they are outside, and you’re like, wait, did I miss a title card? I guess that’s just how they did things back then.

It is definitely more grounded than something like The Lost Laugh. While that movie is all about one guy’s head, this feels like a whole group of kids trying to start a tiny revolution against their principals.

The way they show the revolution starting is kind of weird. It’s like the world outside the school is changing, but the kids are still stuck worrying about their grades and getting hit with rulers. It makes the ending feel a bit sudden, honestly.

I found myself wondering about the extras in the back of the class. Most of them look like they are actually bored, which probably wasn't acting. They were probably just tired of sitting in those itchy uniforms for ten hours of filming.

I would say it’s a better watch than The Office Wife if you want something with a bit more bite to it. Even if you don't care about Russian history, the 'us versus them' energy between the students and the staff is fun to watch.

One reaction shot of a teacher lasted so long I started laughing. He just stares. And stares. It becomes funny after about six seconds. 🤣

Don't expect a perfect story. It’s a bit messy and some parts feel like they are missing. But it has a lot of heart for a movie that is basically a century old.

If you're bored on a Sunday and want to see some 1920s kids being rascals, give it a go. It's short enough that it won't ruin your day if you don't love it. Just watch the mustache of the headmaster—it’s the real star of the show.