White Sun of the Desert

White Sun of the Desert
Directed by	Vladimir Motyl
Produced by	Experimental Studio of Mosfilm
Written by	Valentin Yezhov Rustam Ibragimbekov
Starring	Anatoly Kuznetsov Spartak Mishulin Pavel Luspekaev
Music by	Isaak Schwarz (song lyrics by Bulat Okudzhava)
Cinematography	Eduard Rozovsky
Distributed by	Lenfilm Mosfilm
Release date(s)	1969
Running time	85 min.
Country	Soviet Union
Language	Russian

White Sun of the Desert (Russian: Белое солнце пустыни; Beloye solntse pustyni) (1969), a classic 'Eastern' or Ostern film of the Soviet Union.

The film is one of the most popular Russian films of all time. Its blend of action, comedy, music and drama has made it wildly successful and it has since achieved the status of a cult film in Soviet and Russian culture. The film has contributed many sayings to the Russian language (see below). Its main theme song, "Your Honor Lady Luck" (Ваше благородие, госпожа Удача, music: Isaak Schwarz, lyrics: Bulat Okudzhava, performed by Pavel Luspekaev) became a huge hit. The film is ritually watched by cosmonauts before many space launches.

History

The director, Vladimir Motyl, said such films as Stagecoach and High Noon influenced him and he has described the film as being a "cocktail" of both an adventurous Russian folktale and a western. Initially several directors, including Andrei Tarkovsky and Andrei Konchalovsky, were offered the film but they turned it down, Motyl claims, for two main reasons. Firstly, Konchalovsky thought only American actors could pull off the part of a lead role in a western, and secondly the screenplay was considered weak. Motyl was offered the screenplay and decided to make the best of his chance. He consequently rewrote a large part of the screenplay, and all the dialogue for Pavel Luspekaev's character, Vereshchagin, was written immediately before shooting began. The screenwriters published a book under the same title. A Russian computer game was released based on the film. In 1998, the creators of the film were awarded the 1997 Russian Federation State Prize in Literature and Arts, nearly 30 years after the film left the silver screen.

Plot

The setting is the east shore of the Caspian Sea (modern Turkmenistan) where the Red Army soldier Fyodor Sukhov has been fighting the Civil War in Russian Asia for a number of years. The movie opens with a panoramic shot of a bucolic Russian countryside. Katerina Matveyevna, Sukhov's beloved wife, is standing in a field. Awakening from this daydream, Sukhov is walking through the Central Asian desert – a stark contrast to his homeland. He finds Sayid buried in the sand. Sayid, an austere Central Asian, will come to Sukhov's rescue in sticky situations throughout the movie. Sukhov frees Sayid, and they strike a friendly but reticent relationship. While traveling together they are caught up in a desert fight between a Red Army cavalry unit and Basmachi guerrillas. The cavalry unit commander, Rakhimov, "convinces" Sukhov to help, temporarily, with the protection of abandoned women of the Basmachi guerrilla leader Abdullah's harem. Leaving a young Red Army soldier, Petrukha, to assist Sukhov with the task, Rakhimov and his cavalry unit set out to pursue fleeing Abdullah. Sukhov and women from Abdullah's harem return to a nearby shore town. There, Sukhov charges the village museum's curator with protecting the women, and prepares to continue home. Sukhov hopes to "modernize" the wives of the harem, and make them part of the revolution. He urges them to take off their burqa and reject polygamy. The wives are loath to do this, though, and as Sukhov takes on the role of protector, the wives declare him their new husband. Sukhov continues to press for their modernization and liberation, while trying to imagine, in one of the film's most amusing episodes, himself at the head of the polygamous family back in Russia.

Soon, looking for a seaway across the border, Abdullah and his gang come to the same town and find Abdullah's wives. Sukhov is bound to stay. Hoping to obtain help and weapons to fight Abdullah's gang, Sukhov and Petrukha visit Paul Vereschagin, a former Tsar's customs official who has begun drinking. Vereschagin lives a lonely life as the only Russian, along with his wife, living in an isolated border town. His glory days are behind him: the walls are covered with pictures of Vereschagin from the military campaigns he fought in and was awarded and wounded. The Civil War has left him without an official job and without a place to go. He warms to Petrukha who obviously reminds him of his own son who died young. Sukhov and Petrukha solicit his help, but after discussing the matter with his nagging wife, Vereschagin refuses. Luckily, Sukhov finds a case of dynamite on which some old men from the village have been resting. Sukhov plants the dynamite on Abdullah's ship in the Caspian Sea. Meanwhile, Abdullah has confronted his wives, and is preparing to punish them for their dishonor – they did not kill themselves when Abdullah left them. Sukhov takes Abdullah hostage while Abdullah is with his wives. Once Sukhov has left, though, Abdullah escapes, killing Petrukha and Gyulchatai, the youngest wife of the harem.

The museum curator shows Sukhov an underground passage dating back to the Samanid dynasty that leads to the sea. Sukhov and the women of the harem attempt to escape through the passage, but on arriving at the seashore they are impelled to hide in a large empty oil tank. Abdullah discovers their hiding place, and plans on setting the oil tank on fire.

Enraged at the cold-hearted murder of Petrukha, Vereschagin decides to help Sukhov and takes Abdullah's ship after locking his wife inside their house. Sayid also helps Sukhov, and together they fend off Abdullah's gang. Vereschagin, ignorant of the dynamite on the ship and not hearing Sukhov's shouted warnings, tragically kills himself on the exploding ship.

Sukhov kills Abdullah and his gang, and returns the harem to Rakhimov. He then begins his trek home on foot, having refused a horse since a horse is merely "a nuisance". Whether Sukhov will make it home to his beloved Katerina is unclear: the revolution is not over in Central Asia, and as an exemplary Red Army soldier like Sukhov may well be needed.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack to "White Sun of the Desert" is one of the most celebrated of Russian film.^{[citation needed]} The score contains guitar music, balalaika and orchestral music. Many of the songs are inspired by the 1960’s urban song culture of metropolitan Russia, in the tradition of singers like Vladimir Vysotsky. These songs are often just a voice and guitar, with the music drawing on traditional Russian folk music.

"Your Honor, Lady Luck", sung by Vereschagin accompanied by a guitar, is a musical motif in the film. The lyrics talk about loneliness, humanity’s dependence on luck, and hope for love. These lyrics mirror many of the film's central themes, including Vereschagin's sadness and Sukhov's separation from Katerina.

Reception

"White Sun of the Desert" became one of the most popular movies made during the Soviet era, and it has attained a cult status in Russia. In 1970 the film was the tenth most popular film of the year, with 34.5 million viewers. It helped popularize Ostern (or Eastern) movies.

"White Sun of the Desert" did not receive any rewards during the Soviet era. It lost the 1970 USSR State Prize to By The Lake. It may have lost due to the slightly controversial tone of the film, which could be seen as implicitly poking fun at Soviet mythologizing of the Revolution and Civil War. But in 1998 it was awarded the state prize by president Boris Yeltsin, being recognized as culturally significant.

The film received limited attention in the West. It was shown at a Soviet film festival at the little Carnegie Theatre in 1973, meant to tie in with Brezhnev's visit to the United States. Other than that, it was not largely released. Roger Greenspun, the New York Times movie critic, referred to it as "escapist entertainment".

Part of Space History

All crew members boarding Russian space flights are committed to watch "White Sun of the Desert" as well.

Legacy

The Russian federal customs service erected a statue honoring Vereschagin, the film's celebrated customs officer, in Moscow. In 2008 Rustam Ibragimbekov announced that he had begun production on a White Sun of the Desert TV spinoff entitled "White Sun of the Desert – Home".

An Uzbek-themed restaurant in Moscow named itself after the film.

Popular quotes

Spartak Mishulin as Sayid

Many popular sayings have entered the Russian language from the film. The first is by far the best known.

• The East is a delicate matter (Восток — дело тонкое); refers to any complicated or difficult matter, not necessarily "eastern" in nature.
• Are there questions? No, there aren't! (Вопросы есть? Вопросов нет!); refers to the commanding tone of an officer that will not hear objections to his command.
• Customs gives the green light ("Таможня дает добро!"); refers to any type of approval, especially reluctant approval.
• His grenades are of a wrong caliber ("Да гранаты у него не той системы"); refers to or to comment upon any kind of excuse, particularly a pathetic one. The line wasn't scripted, but improvised by the actor.
• Gyulchatai, show your sweet face ("Гюльчатай, открой личико"); a popular Russian saying for boys to say to girls.
• I feel bad for my country ("За державу обидно"); useful as defensive argument in disputes of any kind relation to the homeland.
• I'm replying to your letter, dear Katerina Matveyevna… ("Обратно пишу вам, любезная Катерина Матвеевна…"); used as a prelude to a letter humorously emphasizing its unusually high volume of detail or frequency of mail exchange.
• Mahmud, set the fire ("Махмуд, поджигай!"); used when embarking cheerfully on some difficult potentially dangerous mission.

Main cast

• Raisa Kurkina (Раиса Куркина) - Vereshchagin's wife
• Anatoly Kuznetsov (Анатолий Кузнецов) - Sukhov
• Spartak Mishulin (Спартак Мишулин) - Sayid
• Pavel Luspekaev (Павел Луспекаев) - Vereshchagin
• Kakhi Kavsadze (Кахи Кавсадзе) - Abdullah
• Tamara Fedotova - Gyulchatai
• Tatiana Denisova (also Gyulchatai)
• Nikolai Godovikov (Николай Годовиков) - Petrukha

References

• Valentin Yezhov and Rustam Ibragimbekov, Белое солнце пустыни, Vagrius, 2001, ISBN 5-264-00694-6

External links

• Beloe solntse pustyni at the Internet Movie Database
• White Sun of the Desert at AllRovi
• Trailer and Screenshots
• White Sun of the Desert on YouTube, the official Mosfilm channel
• Karaoke version of Vereshchagin's song, with lyrics (in Russian)