Gyermekéveim

The trilogy about the rebellion of Alexei Maximovich Peshkov against the poverty and cruelty of people and their world is overflowing with a long river of characters that little Alexei encounters during his transition from a young boy to a giant of Russian and world literature named Maxim Gorky. The encounters are short and long, joyful, but mostly painful. The film is surprisingly uncompromising and does not tend to avoid responsibility, which is unexpected for a film from a socialist state. Poverty is portrayed in all its repulsiveness, degrading humanity. However, the film does not seek simple justifications, buck-passing, or nostalgia for the majority of the human characters. Therefore, the viewer, through young Peshkov, is directly confronted with the wickedness, deceit, and disregard for others of those around them, whether they are representatives of the merchant class on the Volga in the 19th century or ordinary people in our century. The film portrays the culture of poverty without external explanations, and therefore faithfully. Through this understanding, Gorky was able to rebel in the name of man against the poverty that irrevocably destroys people. The positive characters, which often just briefly appear in the film as well as in life, show us why he had a reason to believe in it, leaving a lasting impact. The film was also at the forefront of its time in terms of narrative and technical aspects. (2014.12.13)