''Freeze Die Come to Life'' () is a 1989 Soviet

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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Vitali Kanevsky. It was screened in the

Un Certain Regard (; 'A Certain Glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films with unusua ...

section at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the

Caméra d'Or The Caméra d'Or ("''Golden Camera''") is an award of the Cannes Film Festival for the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes selections (Official Selection, Directors' Fortnight or Critics' Week). The prize was created in 1978 Ca ...

Plot

Set in 1947 in the desolate mining town of Suchan, the story follows teenagers Valerka and Galiya, who share a love-hate friendship as they navigate the harsh realities of their lives. Valerka, spotting Galiya selling hot water labeled as "tea" in the freezing town market, mimics her and claims his water is fresher. With his earnings, he buys skates, only to have them stolen, but Galiya helps him retrieve them. Valerka also gets into trouble at school for a prank involving yeast in the toilets, leading his mother to beg the principal not to expel him. After a local train operator beats him for riding coal cars, Valerka mischievously redirects a rail switch, causing the train to derail. Afraid of being caught, he confides in Galiya and flees to Vladivostok, where he briefly joins a gang, unwittingly assisting in a jewelry store robbery that turns violent. However, when the gang suspects him of being a snitch, they decide to kill him. Galiya, visiting Vladivostok, finds Valerka and warns him that the authorities had been looking for him at his mother's request and that he’s no longer a suspect for the train accident. Together, they narrowly escape from the gang, fleeing partway by train and then on foot. As they journey back to Suchan, Valerka recites poetry and sings songs about love to Galiya. Tragically, in the film’s final moments, the gang catches up with them. The closing scene reveals Galiya’s lifeless body being brought home on a cart by her grieving father, while Valerka’s mother is said to be taking him to the hospital.

Cast

* Dinara Drukarova as Galia * Pavel Nazarov as Valerka * Yelena Popova as Valerka's mother * Valeri Ivchenko * Vyacheslav Bambushek as Vitka * Vadim Yermolayev as School principal

Reception

In 1990, the film received the Grand Prix for Best Film at Film Fest Gent.

References

External links

* 1989 films 1989 drama films Soviet drama films Russian-language drama films 1980s Russian-language films Soviet black-and-white films Films directed by Vitali Kanevsky Films set in Siberia Lenfilm films Caméra d'Or winners 1980s Soviet films {{1980s-drama-film-stub