Le Tombeau d'Alexandre (The Last Bolshevik) (1992)

74% of users liked it
(72 ratings)

The life of filmmaker Alexander Medvedkin (1900-1989) serves as a template for exploring the history of Russia during that period, from its takeover under Lenin and the Bolsheviks, to the advent of the most hopeful part of the Gorbachev era which prefigured the demise of the U.S.S.R. As a filmmaker,… More The life of filmmaker Alexander Medvedkin (1900-1989) serves as a template for exploring the history of Russia during that period, from its takeover under Lenin and the Bolsheviks, to the advent of the most hopeful part of the Gorbachev era which prefigured the demise of the U.S.S.R. As a filmmaker, Medvedkin had a motto which explains many of his works: "It is not the past that dominates us, but images of the past." This documentary features clips from many of Medvedkin's and his contemporaries' films, features interviews with the man and his daughter, and celebrates his accomplishments. In an interesting sideline, he invented a camera which could be attached to a modified rifle, so that soldiers could film battle scenes. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 2 hr.
Directed By: Chris Marker
Genres: Documentary, Television, Art House & International

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1992 Wide
On DVD: Dec 2, 2008
Studio: Icarus Films

Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It's one of the better documentaries.
Louis Proyect, rec.arts.movies.reviews
A combination of Alexander Medvedkin's negelected satiric masterpiece and a loving tribute to the film-maker by his life-long friend Chris Marker, who is a last Bolshevik in his own right.
Eric Henderson, Slant Magazine
Chris Marker allows himself to get personal.
Eric Henderson, Slant Magazine
The catch is that the letters are addressing a dead man.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Walter M

With all the time I have spent in darkened rooms watching the flickering images of cinema over the years, I am surprised whenever I come across a new element of movies I had never heard of before. One such example is an intriguing looking retrospective of Lithuanian cinema at the… More
With all the time I have spent in darkened rooms watching the flickering images of cinema over the years, I am surprised whenever I come across a new element of movies I had never heard of before. One such example is an intriguing looking retrospective of Lithuanian cinema at the Museum of Modern Art. Another example is on display in "The Last Bolshevik" which is a documentary about Aleksandr Medvedkin, born in 1900, who came of age during the Russian Civil War, exchanging Christianity for Communism, becoming a film director, and dying in 1989, just as the whole thing was falling apart.(Tombstones are a frequent symbol in this documentary.) Since Chris Marker is handling the festivities, you know you are not going to get the usual talking heads recap of a life and career we should know more about and that's certainly the case here, while explaining why his work is so obscure. Starting out with Medvedkin's "Happiness" made in 1934 which looks like it is worthy of wider attention, especially in one scene where the soldiers wear masks, Marker dissects propaganda in fine detail, showing how often it is different from reality but also how often it is confused with reality. Medvedkin would try to capture the reality of the countryside in his later films, but this was not the reality the Party bosses wanted seen, so they squashed his films. They did not want it to be known how badly the farm collectivization program was going, amongst other things. This just goes to prove that the audience will usually prefer a more sanitized version over the harsh light of realism. If that is not enough to convince you to see "The Last Bolshevik," then I would also like to mention that it has the coolest intermission ever.

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