Red Army Days (1935) review: Surprisingly sweet tank propaganda

Skip this if you want a heavy, grim Soviet drama about the horrors of war. But if you want to see what a "rom-com" looked like under Stalin's eye in 1935, Red Army Days is actually kind of charming in a very dusty, loud way. 🚜

It is definitely worth a watch if you like old, weirdly cheerful propaganda. Anyone expecting deep military strategy or serious history will probably absolutely hate it, though.

Tanks and Teacups

The plot is basically: a bunch of big clunky tanks roll into a tiny provincial town for military exercises. One of the commanders rents a room from a local student named Tonya, and of course, sparks fly amid the diesel fumes.

I love how the movie handles the arrival of the military. It is not scary or tense at all; it is treated like the circus just came to town. 🎪

There is this great, silly scene where the tanks rumble past Tonya's house and her entire room starts shaking. A teapot almost vibrates off the table, and the camera just lingers on it for way too long.

It is way more lighthearted than other films from that region around then, like A Jew at War. This one is all about sunshine and smiles.

The Cast is Doing a Lot

Tatyana Okunevskaya plays Tonya with this permanent look of mild annoyance that I found very relatable. She does not seem super impressed by the big tanks or the handsome commander at first.

And Yanina Zheymo is here too! She is always a scene-stealer, even if her character does not really do much except look cute and energetic.

Sometimes the acting gets so loud, though. It feels like everyone is shouting their lines to be heard over the tank engines, even when they are just standing in a quiet kitchen. 🗣️

Some random things I wrote down:

• The tanks are suspiciously clean. Like, did they polish them with wax before filming? ✨
• There is a dog in one scene that looks genuinely terrified of the machinery. I felt bad for him.
• The romantic tension is mostly just two people staring very intensely at a map together. Very romantic.
• The music is incredibly loud. It just blasts brass horns out of nowhere to let you know a tank is coming.

It is not a masterpiece, and the second half gets a bit bogged down in military drills that go on forever. But for a 1930s film, it has a surprisingly gentle heart.