A new film from Russia (!) that is sure to be considered a classic

 Who would expect a great film to be coming to us from  Russia of all places, not known for the excellence of its contemporary cinema, but here comes the (poorly titled) historical drama Beranpole (2019) and by any measure its a rare film that we can immediately call a classic. Set in Leningrad at the end of WWII (1945), it's at least in part a look at the complete disruption of Soviet society after the brutality and the losses of the war; people are pouring back into the city, but so many are wounded, physically and psychologically (or both), and the poverty and bleak conditions of a Russian winter permeate over moment of the film. Within this bleakness there are glimpses of beauty - notably the terrific designs of the crowded apartments with their colorful wall hangings and carpeting - yet everyone is bearing a terrible burden. The central (eponymous) character, played by the striking Viktoria Miroschnichenko (!), is caring for a young child entrusted to her by a woman she says was a comrade in arms during the war; the child suffers a bad fate, and when the child's mother - Vasilisa Perelygina - turns up there are many complications, none of which I will reveal - but will note a # of fantastic scenes: the clinic, the baths, Beanpole's first fit, sex in the car, fighting around a table (incredible camera work), the twirl scene, meet the parents - probably others as well: this film moves from one great, indelible moment to the next. Strangely, I heard that a reviewer compared this film w/ War and Peace, which I think is totally off the mark: Nothing about military strategy, not a glorification in any way of the military, no families of nobility, lots of disturbing moral dilemmas, and strangest of all, nothing that reflects well on the current state of affairs in Russia unless the message is "that was then, this is now." I don't know for sure how factual Beanpole is re post-war Russia and military life, but I read that it was based on reporting by Svetlana Alexievich, who won a Nobel Prize in literature for her nonfiction writing - the veracity only adds to the excellence of this film (Kanitemir Balagov, 29 years old, directed!).