''One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich'' ( no, En dag i Ivan Denisovitsj' liv) is a 1970 biographical

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

based on the novel by

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Russian novelist. One of the most famous Soviet dissidents, Solzhenitsyn was an outspoken critic of communism and helped to raise global awareness of political repr ...

with the same name.

Plot

The film stars

Tom Courtenay Sir Thomas Daniel Courtenay (; born 25 February 1937) is an English actor. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Courtenay achieved prominence in the 1960s with a series of acclaimed film roles, including ''The Loneliness of t ...

as the title character, a prisoner in the Soviet

gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the State Political Directorate, GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= ...

system in the 1950s who endures a long prison sentence. It tells of a routine day in his life.

Cast

as Ivan Denisovich Shukhov *

Espen Skjønberg Espen Henrik Skjønberg (7 April 1924 – 26 August 2022) was a Norwegian actor of stage, screen, and television. Career Skjønberg made his first movie appearances as a child in the 1932 film '' En glad gutt'' and in the 1937 Norwegian classic ...

as Tiurin *

Alf Malland Alf Malland (24 January 1917 – 16 August 1997) was a Norwegian actor. Biography He was born in Bergen, Norway. He began his acting career as a student at the Det Norske Teatret in Oslo. Following the German occupation of Norway during W ...

as Fetiukov * as Senka * Jo Skønberg as Gopchik * as Eino * Torstein Rustdal as Vaino * James Maxwell as Captain * Alfred Burke as Alyosha * Eric Thompson as Tsetzar * John Cording as Pavlo * Matthew Guinness as Kilgas *

Roy Bjørnstad Roy Bjørnstad (September 29, 1925 – November 25, 2005) was a Norwegian actor. Bjørnstad made his debut in 1945 at the People's Theater in Sweden. Throughout his career, he was associated with several theaters in Norway, including the Trø ...

* Paul Connell * Sverre Hansen * Wolfe Morris * Kjell Stormoen * Caspar Wrede

Reception

Roger Greenspun, in a respectful but unenthusiastic review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', spoke highly of the cinematography, the "intelligent exploitation of realistic locations," and "estimable performances" by Courtenay and Skjonberg, but said that the movie carries "the aura of an almost official view of high quality, as if this were how an important movie made from an important novel ought to look."

Banned in Finland

Finnish film director Jörn Donner tried to get the film to Finland, but the Finnish Board of Film banned the showing of the film. In 1972, Donner complained to the

Supreme Administrative Court of Finland The Supreme Administrative Court of Finland (, ) is the highest court in the Finnish administrative court system, parallel to the Supreme Court of Finland. Its jurisdiction covers the legality of the decisions of government officials, and its ...

. The Supreme Administrative Court voted for the banning 5–4 on 28 February 1972. In 1972 and 1974, Swedish television showed the film, and the Swedish television mast in

Åland Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an autonomous and demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1,580 km2, and a populat ...

was shut down during the movie to prevent Finns from seeing the film. The director of the Finnish Board of Film, Jerker Eeriksson, said that the ban of the film was political because it harmed Finnish–

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

relations. The director, Caspar Wrede, who then lived in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, refused to campaign against the ban to avoid bad publicity abroad. The film was shown in Finland in 1993 and 1994 in the Orion movie theater in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, as well as in the cinema club in

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

. Finnish television showed the film in 1996 on the TV1 YLE channel.

Bibliography

References

External links

* * *
Donner: Solzhenitsyn oli räjähde
The interview of Jörn Donner about the prohibition of the film in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

. 1970 films 1970 drama films British prison drama films Norwegian drama films English-language Norwegian films Films based on works by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Films based on Russian novels Films about the Soviet Union in the Stalin era Films set in the 1950s Gulag in literature and arts Films with screenplays by Ronald Harwood 1970s prison films Films scored by Arne Nordheim 1970s English-language films 1970s British films {{1970s-drama-film-stub