Ivan Pyr’ev, Mosfilm's Enigma
After the wonderful surprises of last year’s retrospective on Boris Barnet, this year we are paying tribute to another Soviet master of musical films, comedy and drama. Undoubtedly, many of Pyr’ev’s films, such as The Party Card or Cossacks of Kuban, are historically ambiguous in their support of the regime – but how can we not admire a filmmaker who was able to represent that gigantic fraud with such musicality and humor? Mostly known for musicals starring his wife Marina Ladynina, Pyr’ev also directed Six O'Clock in the Evening After the War, one of the most extraordinary films on the Second World War. Genuinely interested in Russian folklore and traditions, in other films, such as Song of Siberia, Pyr’ev became a true poet.
