The Pioneer's Violin
Subtle coloring and an impressionistic approach to landscape distinguish this patriotic animated short set to music. After a flourishing Soviet hamlet is destroyed by Nazi planes, the sole survivor is confronted by a hulking Nazi commando in a tank. The military man tries to cajole the young violinist into repeating a jaunty harmonica melody at gunpoint but the boy strikes up a noble song of resistance instead. Stepantsev's film may romance the idea of martyrdom but it does so with a gravity not often found in similar films.
- Year: 1971
- Country: Soviet Union
- Genre: Animation
- Studio: Soyuzmultfilm
- Keyword:
- Director: Boris Stepantsev
- Cast: