Figure 1.--'My Peristroika' is a lovely doumntary which follows the lives of five ordinary Russians school children. The film begins with a big Miscow celebration, pehaps May Day. Soviet leaders including Breznew are standing on Lenin's Tomb in Red Aquare waving. We see smartly uniformed children marching and giving well rehersed speeches lauding the Soviet Union which one boy earestly refers to as 'the land of happy childhood'.

'My Peristroika' is a lovely doumntary which follows the lives of five ordinary Russians school children. The individuals were unrelated as children, but attended the same Moscow school. The film begins with a big Moscow celebration, perhaps May Day. Soviet leaders including Breznew are standing on Lenin's Tomb in Rd Square waving. We see smartly uniformed children in their piffy Young Pioneer uniforms. They are marching and giving well rehersed speeches lauding the Soviet Union wgich one boy earestly refers to as 'the land of happy childhood'. This remarkable film was made possible when an American film maker Robin Hessman visited a Moscow state school and found that one of the history teachers had a treasure trove of family movie film his father had taken with both home and school scenes. Scenes from the school help provide images of four of his school mates. This provided scenes from their happy, secure childhood as well as during the next decade when the Soviet Union began to follow apart during their teen years. The film maker mixes the home footage, family snapshots together with historical documentary footage. And then she has the five individuals describe their childhhod, teen years, and present situation. The five individuals selected are a mixed lot, including the history teacher and his wife, a rock musician, an entrepreneur, and pool table technician. The pool table technician look forward to be a housewife when her banker fiancee was shot. She is apolitical, even wisful about the security of the old Soviet Union. The others are critical of the current situiation. The film has something of the feel of the British '7 Up' series, only here we don't get interviews with the participants as children, only their memories looking back. The five provide varied insightful views of modern Russia. The documentary was shot in Russian so I first thought it was from Russian television until I noticed how openly they spoke. Two of their children also participate in the dialog. The film ends with the history teacher listening to Prime Minister Putin explain how he is going to change how history is taught in Russia.

Created: 5:53 AM 7/5/2011
Last updated: 5:53 AM 7/5/2011