The Rainbow (1944) User Reviews

Striking Soviet War Film

[Lilcount · 7/10 · 3 December 2009]

This film was shot during the war in 1941 and was released in the USA in 1945 with an English language voice-over narration. The idea apparently was to display the hardships endured by our (then) allies just before they were to capture Berlin.

Nazis occupy a Ukrainian village and brutalize the inhabitants. The victims include a pregnant woman who is tortured in the most harrowing sequence. Surprisingly, for a Soviet film, Christianity is tolerated.

I saw a version at MOMA without subtitles or English narration, but I followed the action easily. "The Rainbow" is beautifully shot, and director Mark Donskoy was a strong visual storyteller. Recommended.

Rainbow of hope.

[brogmiller · 8/10 · 24 October 2019]

This was made in the Ukraine during the winter of 1943 and thus has a power and immediacy which it is impossible to replicate. The scenes depicting the fate of the peasant woman Olena, superbly played by Natalya Yzhviy, at the hands of the Germans, are truly visceral and linger long in the memory. The title refers to the rainbow which represents a symbol of hope for the oppressed villagers. Screenplay by Wanda Wasilewka from her novel and directed by Mark Donskoy this film is immensely moving and serves as a devastating historical document.

28/02/2022: Ironic indeed that Ukraine's former conqueror is now sending arms to aid the beleaguered citizens of that state.

Stock movie

[enaskitis-1 · 1/10 · 12 February 2014]

Characters in this low-quality propaganda-movie are so phony they're not characters at all, just living cartoons with stock personalities: the wicked Germans, the male collaborator, the female collaborator-concubine, the enduring villagers, the patriotic Orthodox priest, the innocent children, the conscious female teacher, the partisans.

The script is so childish you think it was meant for 5-year-olds or maybe for a village public that had never seen a motion picture in their life. The only moments my resigned boredom was interrupted was when one or two points where naivety touched comical levels caused amused giggles among the public (including me).

The director, Mark Donskoy, has shot The Childhood of Maxim Gorky and The horse that Cried, which, although not special, are passable movies. But here he has really touched bottom.