The Forty First

The Forty First is a USSR film which first debuted in Russia in 1959. It tells the story of a woman soldier, and her male prisoner, with whom she falls in love with. Traveling through a desert, and then becoming shipwrecked on an island with only the two of them, their love seemed inevitable. However, it ends the lead character shooting her prisoner/lover. But, The Forty First is more than just a tragic love story. It actually is a great picture of what the role of women in Soviet Russia was, as well as a balanced story and also part of the story of the civil war in Russia. All of this was done while still following the strict regulations on Soviet films at the time.

Marutka, the best sniper in her group. 

Russian women, in theory, were just as equal as men. This is because while the men were fighting in World War I, women took over many of the jobs that had previously been filled by men. While the men were away, it was a woman's job not only to nurture, and care for the family, but also to go to work and provide for the family, as well as discipline the children. They did this very well, and with much ease. In 1917, the November Revolution proclaimed that soviet women now had all the same rights as men had, including political and economic. This led to the Bolshevik government making women's rights a high priority. This was a popular move, and in theory, women were able to do everything that a man could. But it didn't always work out like that. There was a bit of confusion that was be felt by women, because they were they could be everything: a nurturer, a citizen, a worker. They could be whatever they wanted, but they still were expected to do certain things. The movie, The Forty First, navigated these tricky waters by creating a women lead who was in the army. She was hard, and able to kill just as easily as the men. In fact, she was the best sniper in her team. However, when she and her prisoner were stuck on an island, and he became sick, she nursed him back to health. It showed that, while she was still just as able as a man, she also was tender-hearted, and caring, like a woman was supposed to be. She also got into an argument with her prisoner/lover about why she fights in the war, and why it is a cause worth fighting. It shows that she is a citizen, who fights for what she believes in.

Marutka, the nurturer. Nursing back to health her sick prisoner.
"I am not some beast to let a man die." She is nurturing woman,
as well as a fierce fighter.

A frustrating thing about the movie is the way it resolves. In the last 90 seconds, the lead character ends up shooting her lover. It left me feeling a little confused, and shocked. But, after a little thought, I think this is the way they had to end the movie because of the regulations that filmmakers had in Soviet Russia. In the end, she chose her cause, her war, over her love. It showed that in Soviet Russia, the number one ideal was not love or romance, but rather the cause of the people, the cause of the government, etc. The way the film ended was mostly because of the need to balance fantasy, with Soviet realism. In Soviet film, it couldn't be all fantasy, it had to be at least a little more 'real'. The Forty First balanced the fantasy of romance and love, with the realism of her killing the man at the end. Also, there is more realism than just the way the movie ends. Because it move took place in a war setting, it also showed the realities of war: killing, dying, hardship, pain. In my opinion, the writers were able to create a compelling story, while still meeting the standards that the Soviet Union placed on film industry.

Finally, The Forty First takes place during the Russian Civil War. Having not known much about it before, there was very little I could've learned from the content in the film. But, there were a few things I picked up. There were two sides to the war, the Reds and Whites. They were fighting each other. It was all in Russia. I think I would've better understood the movie if I had known more about the war first.

The Forty First was a great Soviet film about a women sniper, who had killed 40 men from the enemy army. She missed what would've been the 41, and he became a prisoner, and was put under her charge. Through a turn of events, they end up shipwrecked on an island together. At the very end of the movie, she ends up shooting him, her forty first kill. This tragic love story was more than just that because it showed how complex a woman's role was in Soviet Russia. The writers were able to create a compelling story, while still adhering to the stiff regulations of the Soviet era.

Marutka and her prisoner.