"THE VOLGA BOATMAN."

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18917, 4 February 1927, Page 15

"THE VOLGA BOATMAN."

A MAGNIFICENT HUMAN DRAMA. TJnromantic and terse, we aw told that the Volga, river is the longcit «iver in Europe, end we are told little else. History, which delves deeper, even neglects, in most mstices to record the regime of savage brutah.ro which exists .long the bank, ol the Volga or existed during the reign of the Cxars. and it remained for Rtuaian writers of tho Tolstoy school to reveal the ho or. of the primitive Hie on the bank, of that river. An order which waa in force in the earliest ages of the world: wm, till tho Russian revolution ended all lor th« monarchist* in a red burst of civil war, the. accepted thing in certain parts of Russia, a life which was so drab and prosaic as to amount to sheerest drama, a life which wa» so tragic and inhuman aa to be shot witn al' tho emotions of life, one in which was to bo found a wealth of melodramatic and human interest, which in the hands of a skilled dissector oi hunvin nature, becomes of paramount interest to the world Konrad Barcovici's magnificent romance, The \olga Boatman" is such a story, but brought to ths screen by Cecil de Miile, it becomes a production of •"Pe r -«= e ' lcncß il"i.»u7 m a «t TBiterialism, a picture before which the most hardened picture patron must pause in wond r and amazement. It performs one of the most difficult tasks that could bo set a picture, tho faultless depiction of Russian Peasant life, with its eternal paradoxes ta ffiss tragedy, its fantastic, Slav humour, it barbaric"colour and colossal drama All lii »TbT Volga Boatman" «%**£* aid on ita 'ocal premiere at the Grand The»t?e on nextMoSday, it will «»hW thoreward ol its merits. There is a touch o socialism in the structure o! the theme, l ad where it is Infrequently apparent it iii a raging, breathing force, showing ho unbridled pitotoM of serf, .uddenly the mas cr.,; a emotional Mory, with evil conflict a primary toeto. ta the,evelop-, tnent of the plot, a nation of Caucasian! arfdl Tartars, the background, a noble pnnces. and a Volga Boatman, the two tools X hoM th. tngroMid »««»<*» ''° m & taoment the first seem* ftdra+iM tojhj screen, a perspective of the human beasts " burden 'dragging the bargs. •>"«*• banks of the Volga, hameMed to «»Jr tMkj. ill the drama ends in a burst of tnumhant sombre, hirmanness. The .tor, u .one !i « n ntrasta The picture ooens with a scene n an a stocri?. ?«Jf. jlrikingly remini."ent of tale, of the Reign of Terror in France: it depicts Ciarista revelling and inking merry "while 'ft'WlW irebellion has been set to the pile rt Bo uhevism. With the advent of the rcbela, all ut or murder, loot, and aavage revenge the ,d«ma of "The Volga Boatman •*»B*h» if, atride, and running the entire «•»«»«' emotions and visions and »1«K " «"- eludes with a scene of rare pom, which simplicity and dramatic effect skilfully blend. *rTlli.m y ßoyd play, the title ro «,, a character which calls for the ability to restrain, the ability to portray, by varying facial expression, the conflicting thoughts and t»«Ptations which assail the serf, soul who finds himself wicldin* the lash over ho hated aristocrats, confronted by the »**•«»•»* delighte of love, a chiracter who, in ignorance, cannot nnderstand Elinor Faire has i the role of a princess, who permits tow to overthrow caste, and Julia Fayo, p.ays a Tartar camp-follow-r. an unconventional but delightful creature who provides much comedy and not a .ittle emotional drams. Ino box plans for the seacon are now open at The Bristol T : ano Compi.ny, where seats may be reserved.