La guardia bianca

Initially, I was skeptical that the film would be able to capture the magic of Bulgakov's words. Unlike the more recent TV mini-series of "The Master & Margarita" ( which thoroughly failed to do any justice to the great novel) this soviet classic vividly conveys the subtly surreal sense of the absurdity of war inherent in the original writings that it's based on. The acting is convincing, the sets are lavish and believable. Some of the set pieces , especially the nightmarish dream sequences experienced by the white general who has been driven quite insane by all the brutality he's participated in, contain imagery reminiscent of Eisenstein. More proof that the Soviet-era censors either subverted their own system or were too incompetent tp percieve and blot out criticism of their regime. Anyone who enjoys Soviet/Russian film should not miss this one.