6 Ukrainian films banned in the USSR: why the Soviets considered them particularly 'threatening'

Contemporary Ukrainian cinema is experiencing a real renaissance. However, this does not mean that it completely disappeared during the Soviet era. Our directors still made innovative films that won high awards at international festivals.

Instead, these films were often put off to wait for better times and when censors' demands would become more lenient. Radio Liberty Ukraine has compiled a list of six films that were considered particularly threatening in the Soviet Union and banned from screening, thus blocking the development of Ukrainian cinema.

Conscience (1968)

Directed by: Volodymyr Denysenko

The film is set in Ukraine during the Second World War. A German commandant is killed by two local boys. For this, the Nazis shoot half of the villagers. The rest will be shot in the morning unless they agree to hand over the killers. The people have a few hours to decide whether to hide the names of the killers and die or to hand over those who killed their tormentor and survive themselves.

After the official ban, the only copy of the film in existence was stolen. However, in 1989, just before the collapse of the Soviet Union, someone left the tape under the door of the Dovzhenko Film Studio's film storage. The son of the film's director Volodymyr Denysenko, Oleksandr, shared this fascinating story.

White Clouds (1968)

Directed by: Director: Rollan Serhiienko

The protagonist receives a telegram with a message that his father is dying. The man sets off on a long journey and recalls the times of his childhood, which were marked by collectivization and the Holodomor. The protagonist's father sided with the Soviets and turned in his fellow villagers. Throughout the film, the viewer is tormented by the question of whether the son will have time to see his father and what he will say to him after all these reflections.

The film was released in theaters in the year of its release, but only a very limited number of viewers were able to see it. In addition, the censors removed many scenes from the movie. Later it was recognized as "ideologically incorrect" and put off.

A Spring for the Thirsty (1966)

Directed by: Yurii Iliienko

Yurii Illienko is considered a record holder in terms of the number of banned works: seven of his films were not allowed to be distributed. A Spring for the Thirsty is considered to be perhaps the best of them. The movie has almost no actors' lines. It tells, without words, about an old man Levko who is left alone as his wife and six sons have abandoned him. The man seeks death and even makes a coffin for himself, but his life goes on. Thus, Levko decides to clean the village well. It has been providing water to the people for centuries, but now it has become silted up and needs to be maintained.

The director uses these poetic images to tell the story of life and death. Iliienko's work, based on a script by Ivan Drach, angered the Soviet authorities so much that they decided not only to ban it, but also to destroy all copies. However, the director managed to steal one of them. Thus, the masterpiece was saved for posterity. The first screening of movie took place in 1988.

The Lost Letter (1972)

Director: Borys Ivchenko

The genre of the film can be described as a heroic comedy. Two Cossacks, Vasyl (Ivan Mykolaichuk) and Andriyi(Fedir Stryhun), go to the tsarina to get the hetman's charter and experience a lot of fun adventures and hardships along the way.

This seemingly simple film went through a number of challenges. Initially, it was supposed to be directed by Viktor Hres, but the officials did not like his version of the freedom-loving Cossack Vasyl, so he was replaced by Borys Ivchenko. His task was to remake the almost finished film - to shoot new scenes, change the music, add lines, and so on. The director was forced to reassemble the film several times. In particular, the censors were angry about the German accent of the Russian tsarina, and they ordered to dub it in Ukrainian. They also removed the sounds of the Cossack march in the scene of the characters' arrival in St. Petersburg. But all efforts were in vain. The film never received permission for distribution. It took 12 years for it to reach the audience. And yet, it became a classic, which fans disassembled into quotes.

Entering the Sea (1965)

Directed by: Leonid Osyka

The young director shot his debut short film without a single word. He used light, color, images, sensations, and emotions as expressions of his ideas. It is also impossible to retell the plot of the movie. This is an experience that you just have to live.

For this approach, the work was called existentialist and decadent and banned from distribution. The first time viewers were able to see it was in the late 1980s.

The Long Farewell (1971)

Director: Kira Muratova

The legendary Kira Muratova has filmed a poignant story about a mother who raised her son alone and now cannot let him go. In desperation, she resorts to various strange and senseless actions, alienating the one she wanted to hold so much.

When work on the film, shot at the Odesa Film Studio, was almost complete, officials demanded that it be reworked. However, the director refused to distribute the film. For this, she received a special decree from the Central Committee of the USSR Communist Party, which completely banned the film. The movie remained on the shelf for 15 years, but it has not lost its relevance. When The Long Farewell was finally released, it was included in the list of winners of the Locarno International Film Festival.

Subscribe to OBOZ.UA channels on Telegram and Viber to keep up with the latest events.