Семнадцать мгновений весны

Семнадцать мгновений весны

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfYzamr-hM&feature=watch-now-button&wide=1 

This series is now on Youtube, full length. Originally I wanted to see what Schtirlitz jokes were all about, but I actually liked this show a lot (still not done but somewhere 30-40% along). Propaganda aside, this is a nice piece of filmmaking. I guess it is a bit like film noir, if you excuse my french. Also it must have been a common observation that between the lines the show takes gentle jabs not only at the Nazis but at their enemies to the East as well. Those may be the conventions of socialist realism, but the plot does feel realistic (apart from a few miraculous escapes, but still much less than in a typical Western spy movie). The acting is simply superb, IMHO. And last but not least the show is quite educational thanks to lots of original footage I at least have never seen.

Crossing the border from Switzerland to Germany and back at least 2-3 times a week, it was amusing to watch the part when they try to use a "mountainous" crossing with some nice peaks in the distance. To the best of my knowledge there is no such thing as a mountainous crossing from Germany to Switzerland. (Unless they actually crossed from Austria.) And the Bern scenes were most definitely not shot in Bern.

To conclude, taken out of context Socialist Realism may leave quite a legacy for future generations. After all, those Renaissance portraits of Popes and Kings may have seemed disgusting to the contemporaries due to their personal attitude towards either the Church or the State, but now we all admire the colors and the hues. If you saw this series in real time, it would be very interesting to hear what was you reaction then.