Простой случай (1930): Besetzung, Handlung & Streaming

Released in 1930, Простой случай is a drama and liebesfilm film directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin, running about 75 minutes.

What it’s about. As a response to criticism for the allegedly excessive “mass appeal” of his earlier epic STORM OVER ASIA (1928), Vsevolod Pudovkin unleashed his flair for experimentation in what was supposed to be the director’s first sound feature. Everything went wrong: technical problems forced him to complete the film as a silent; viewers were baffled by the lack of a recognizable plot; then, the ideological climate of the Soviet Union changed. He was now being blamed for catering to bourgeois taste! Time has come to set the record straight. Here’s lyrical cinema at its best, deliberately operatic and yet intimate as it matches the characters’ inner life with the solemn rhythms of nature, and depicted through breathtaking black-and-white photography. A sensation at last year’s Pordenone fest, Pudovkin’s long-forgotten swan song to the art of montage is resurrected by Gabriel Thibaudeau’s emotionally charged live music performance. –PCU (USSR, 1930, 75m)

Who’s in it. Простой случай stars Aleksandr Baturin as Langovoy, Yevgeniya Rogulina as Mashenka, Mariya Belousova as Girl and Andrei Gorchilin as Worker, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 6.0/10, Простой случай has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Простой случай page.

If you liked it. Fans of Простой случай tend to enjoy Die Verurteilten, Der Pate, Schindlers Liste and Der Pate - Teil II.