It is being said with regret that to me 'Songs of the Years of Fire' is mostly the opposite of great. Actually on the whole didn't care for a vast majority of the Soviet propaganda animated shorts made in the 1970s, apart from the odd exception such as 1970's 'It's in Our Power'. Found them too completely lacking in subtlety in how they portrayed their characters and subjects, too heavy in stating their points of view, quite dull and very dated.
'Songs of the Years of Fire' has almost all of those problems, though others such as 'The Adventures of the Young Pioneers' did them worse. It does have great qualities and is worth a see for curiosity's sake. But for all its good intentions, which are and always will be appreciated, 'Songs of the Years of Fire' doesn't really work for me (this is all personal taste) and for the same reasons for why most of the 1970s Soviet political animated shorts are underwhelming.
The best thing about 'Songs of the Years of Fire' is the imagery. Some of it is boldly graphic and strikingly startling, it's truly beautiful to watch but also quite uncompromising. Another great aspect is the wonderful music, which is like its own character and one that is foreboding and emotional, without being over-upbeat.
Really did have great respect for the army as portrayed here, their bravery never in doubt. It does get quite moving in parts.
However, when it comes to the story 'Songs of the Years of Fire' is very thin to the point of uneventful-ness and is basically a stringing along of army images. It also feels very dragged out, from stretching out the thin material and a lack of tension. 'Songs of the Years of Fire' is very rich when it comes to the visual aspect, but it is under-cooked and ham-handed when it comes to the substance.
Emotion only comes in spurts, the portrayal of the army is one-sided in a too perfect way and the messaging is delivered with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. It is another 1970s Soviet animated political film to feel like a product of the 40s in atmosphere and attitude rather than the 70s, it's outdated now and it was back then too.
In conclusion, could have been a lot better. 4/10.
'Songs of the Years of Fire' has almost all of those problems, though others such as 'The Adventures of the Young Pioneers' did them worse. It does have great qualities and is worth a see for curiosity's sake. But for all its good intentions, which are and always will be appreciated, 'Songs of the Years of Fire' doesn't really work for me (this is all personal taste) and for the same reasons for why most of the 1970s Soviet political animated shorts are underwhelming.
The best thing about 'Songs of the Years of Fire' is the imagery. Some of it is boldly graphic and strikingly startling, it's truly beautiful to watch but also quite uncompromising. Another great aspect is the wonderful music, which is like its own character and one that is foreboding and emotional, without being over-upbeat.
Really did have great respect for the army as portrayed here, their bravery never in doubt. It does get quite moving in parts.
However, when it comes to the story 'Songs of the Years of Fire' is very thin to the point of uneventful-ness and is basically a stringing along of army images. It also feels very dragged out, from stretching out the thin material and a lack of tension. 'Songs of the Years of Fire' is very rich when it comes to the visual aspect, but it is under-cooked and ham-handed when it comes to the substance.
Emotion only comes in spurts, the portrayal of the army is one-sided in a too perfect way and the messaging is delivered with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. It is another 1970s Soviet animated political film to feel like a product of the 40s in atmosphere and attitude rather than the 70s, it's outdated now and it was back then too.
In conclusion, could have been a lot better. 4/10.
