Beanpole
Russia’s entry into last year’s International Feature Film Oscar race, co-written and directed with thoughtful feeling by Kantemir Balagov, is a story of women after wartime we don’t often see. These women are ones whom have fought on the front line, and are struggling to find their place after combat has ended. One of them say theirs end before due to medical issues; the other one continued fighting, and is hoping to be reunited with loved ones. Both have a tough time of it on the way.
The film begins in a veteran’s hospital, and we first meet Iya (Viktoria Miroshnichenko), a nurse whom was fighting as a gunner, but whom sustained a concussion, which now causes her to freeze in place. Now, she tries and treat soldiers while also taking care of her son, Pashka (Timofey Glazkov). It is near the end of the war, but tragedy strikes when Pashka dies, and it will be a cloud over the rest of the film as her friend, Masha (Vasilisa Perelygina), returns home. Masha starts working at the hospital with Iya, whose nickname is Beanpole for her tall, lanky physique, but the death of Pashka is something neither woman really gets over, and they try to find a way to the life they thought they would have when war ended.
“Beanpole” is a film resolutely from a female perspective, and that is one of its strengths, as we watch Iya and Masha’s friendship try to sustain the tragedies life has in store. Neither woman is well off financially, so work and family are their only real recourse, but both of those come with concessions that will make life difficult. Early on, we see the two walking the streets, and two guys come across them; the guys think it will be an easy hookup, and while Masha welcomes the opportunity- and will even become involved with her guy (Sasha, played by Igor Shirokov) as the film goes on- Iya has no interest, and the night ends awkwardly. It will also set in motion the events that threaten to tear these two friends apart when Masha finds out a painful truth about herself, and makes her happiness Iya’s responsibility, one she does not really welcome. Miroshnichenko and Perelygina are terrific in the roles, and even though the film has many slow spots, their performances help drive it through with compassion and heart.
Late in the film, Masha goes with Sasha to meet his parents- their relationship has progressed in a way that seems to be leading towards marriage. It has also left a strain in the friendship between her and Iya. It turns out that Sasha’s family is more well off than we would expect, and the mother is reluctant about the prospects of the two together. They sit down for a meal together, and Masha goes in about her life on the front lines. As a viewer, we know that she is lying to Sasha’s mother, although there are things we may not know entirely about her time that could be honest here. She is playing down to every expectation the mother has for her in her words before going in for the harsh truth that only one of them could have survived in that situation. She’s ruined her chances to be with Sasha, but kept true to herself. It’s the best scene in the movie, heading to a conclusion that brings us back to a place of peace for these two women, because they have a better understanding of what the other needs, and it’s each other. This is a lovely, sympathetic film, and one that rewards the patience it sometimes requires.
