Koreshki kommuny: A Quiet Look at Early Collective Life

Okay, so Koreshki kommuny isn't exactly a weekend popcorn flick. If you’re genuinely curious about the early days of collective life, or just enjoy digging through the archives of early Soviet cinema, then yeah, maybe give it a look. Anyone expecting explosions or snappy dialogue? You’ll probably be bored stiff. This one's a slow burn, for sure.

The film essentially drops you into a small, hopeful commune. These folks are trying to make things work after the revolution, building something new from what looks like very little. It’s less a story with a clear arc and more a series of vignettes.

There's this long sequence, maybe five minutes, of them just *plowing a field*. No dramatic cuts, just the oxen, the dirt, and the people. You can almost feel the movie trying to convince you this moment matters, really highlighting the sheer effort involved. It's a bit much, but also, it just _is_.

Semyon Grabin, who plays one of the central figures, has this **intense stare**. It shifts between hopeful, determined, and just plain tired. He carries a lot of the film's emotional weight without saying a word, obviously.

Mikhail Gayvoronsky’s character, who I took as a skeptical older farmer, has a few moments where he just watches the others. His face, etched with doubt and a little curiosity, says so much more than any title card could. You can see the internal debate playing out.

The editing is interesting. Sometimes it's quick, almost jarring, for a worker montage, showing hands building, planting. Other times, a scene just holds. *Really holds*. Like a long shot of smoke rising from a chimney. It gives you time to think, maybe too much time sometimes. 🕰️

One shot, I think it was Tatyana Tokarskaya's character, she’s sorting seeds. The way the light hits the wooden table, it’s just beautiful. **Completely unexpected**, a quiet moment of grace in all the grittiness.

The whole idea of “building” is super strong throughout. So many close-ups of hands working. Hands digging, hands sawing, hands sharing bread. *So many hands*. It really hammers home the collective effort.

There's a scene where they’re all gathered for a meal, a rare moment of rest, and one kid just keeps staring directly at the camera. It’s a tiny thing, easily overlooked, but you notice it. It makes the whole thing feel strangely real, like a snapshot rather than a staged scene.

You can tell they were really trying to capture a sense of community. The way they move together in the wide shots, even when they’re not perfectly synchronized, it just works. It's less about individual performance and more about the collective 'organism.'

The ending… it just kind of stops. No grand pronouncements. No big, soaring triumph. Just a group of people, still working. It’s not a dramatic conclusion, but a quiet continuation. Almost like they’re saying, 'The work goes on.' It feels… fitting, for what they were trying to achieve.

It’s not a film I'd rush to re-watch often, but it left an impression. Especially that scene with the light on the seeds. Just a little spark. ✨

Didja notice?

• The sheer amount of *dirt* in this movie. So much dirt.
• The way Semyon Grabin's hat sits slightly crooked in that one scene near the river. Just a small thing.
• I kept wondering what that goat was doing in the background during the village meeting. It just stood there, munching.
• One shot of a shovel just leaning against a wall sticks with you, oddly. Like a symbol of endless labor.
• The communal bread looks surprisingly good. Seriously. 🍞
• The pacing in the middle gets a bit… repetitive. But then a shot of the horizon pulls you back in.