10 BEST Soviet & Russian movies about school
On September 1, all schoolchildren in Russia go back to school. So, for this year’s ‘Knowledge Day’, as it’s also known as, we’ve put together a list of the most interesting movies and TV shows about school life.
1. ‘First-Year Student’ – dir. Ilya Frez, 1948
This is considered a children's coming-of-age movie about a capricious and spoiled girl, who starts first grade and has to get used to the school's rules. But, thanks to her comrades and wise teachers, her character gradually changes for the better.
2. ‘The Republic of ShKID’ – dir. Gennadi Poloka, 1966
A screen adaptation of a cult classic book of the same name, written by Grigori Belykh and L. Panteleyev, who were graduates of the F. M. Dostoevsky School-Commune for Difficult-to-Educate Children (‘ShKID’). The plot follows an attempt to rehabilitate homeless children in the early Soviet 1920s using the latest methods. And the head teacher tries to instill democratic values even among such difficult children.
3. ‘We'll Live Till Monday’ – dir. Stanislav Rostotsky, 1968
This movie depicts three days in the life of an ordinary Soviet school against the backdrop of a love story between a new young teacher and her older colleague. The movie was recognized as the best of the year, won the top prize at the Moscow International Film Festival and even received a USSR State Prize.
4. ‘Big School-Break’ – dir. Alexey Korenev, 1972
An incredibly kind four-episode mini series about an evening school for Soviet working youth. A history teacher, fresh out of pedagogical institute and named after the ancient Russian chronicler Nestor, tries to manage a very difficult, but very talented class. Many of his students are much older and more experienced in life than he is.
5. ‘Practical Joke’ – dir. Vladimir Menshov, 1976
This movie was the directorial debut of future Oscar winner Vladimir Menshov. The plot revolves around half of a class that didn't have time to prepare for a test after attending a party. So, the students collectively agree to trick their teacher together, claiming she never warned them about the test. But, as always, the truth eventually comes out…
6. The Adventures of Elektronik – dir. Konstantin Bromberg, 1980
Every child dreams of a robot twin, who would go to exams in place of them. And one lucky boy named Seryozha Syroezhkin gets this wish: a robot named ‘Elektronik’, who knows everything. But, upon entering the human world, ‘Elektronik’ is dismayed that he himself can never become human.
7. ‘Could One Imagine?’ – dir. Ilya Frez, 1981
This is a touching melodrama about teenage love. Soviet schoolboy and schoolgirl – a quasi modern-day ‘Romeo and Juliet’ – are seeing each other, despite the boy's mother being against their relations. In the end, they are tricked and separated. The story almost ends in a real tragedy…
8. ‘Scarecrow’ – dir. Rolan Bykov, 1983
In the late USSR, the word ‘bullying’ wasn't known yet, but this movie is precisely about that. A sixth-grade girl faces the cruelty of her fellow classmates. For the first time, Soviet schoolchildren were portrayed not as exemplary Pioneers, but as rebel delinquents. The public even called for the movie to be banned.
9. ‘Guest from the Future’ – dir. Pavel Arsenov, 1984
This movie is an adaptation of Kir Bulychev's science fiction novella ‘One Hundred Years Ahead’ and follows an ordinary Soviet schoolboy, who travels to the year 2084 and, together with a girl named Alisa Seleznyova, fights space pirates.
10. ‘The Geographer Drank His Globe Away’ – dir. Alexander Veledinskiy, 2013
Finally, this is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Alexei Ivanov. A perpetually tipsy geography teacher from the city of Perm cannot get his class of hooligans under control. One day, they all go on a rafting trip together, not expecting the difficulties that await them on the way.
