THE OPINION OF THE “WORLD” – TO SEE
The fumes as a horizon. Blast furnaces and factory chimneys as urban landmarks. Worker pride slung over the shoulder. Kombinatit’s the Magnitogorsky Metalurgichesky Kombinat, “MMK” from its usual name, the gigantic metallurgical plant of Magnitogorsk, a mono-industrial city in the Urals. “MMK” displayed everywhere, even on the billboards which, at every street corner, urge passers-by to ” good mood “. Flavor of Sovietism? Definitely, for better or for worse. And it is this chiaroscuro that is the strength of Gabriel Tejedor’s film, Combination, presented in November 2020 at the Jean Rouch International Festival.
The director, who continues his exploration of the remnants of the Soviet empire that he began years ago (Mayskaya Street, The trace), filmed over several seasons the life of the combination and some of his servants – steelworkers who speak openly of their joys and their anguish.
You have to be sensitive to the poetry of the blast furnaces and that of the pastel-colored trams to really appreciate this very contemplative film. Or wanting to feel the nostalgia of a working-class world which, in our country, has largely disappeared… We live neither well nor badly in Magnitogorsk. This is Russian life at its most banal. Children play ice hockey below the towers; in the summer, we take them for walks by the lake, we attend patriotic concerts and we share skewers in the mild evening.
Ecology: a deaf anguish
We also work, above all. Like the steelworker who returns home, weary, swallows his soup and recovers, quoting an old Soviet slogan: “Go to work with joy, come back with pride. » Then he goes to his Latin dance class, his face lights up with life. There is, of course, the pride of pulling tons of burning steel from the bowels of the factory every day, we understand that Sacha first vibrates for his end-of-year show…
This unexpected plot is not the only collision that gives salt to the film and shapes the reality of modern Magnitogorsk. So with this celebration organized by the factory in honor of steelworkers. A child in a pioneer’s shirt proclaims his determination to follow the path of his fathers, while, under the screen, a dancer demonstrates breakdancing.
A dull – and new – anxiety runs through the city: ecology. Magnitogorsk, drowned in smoke, is one of the most polluted cities in Russia. “We want to live old, it’s not possible here”, says a couple who would like to leave for Novosibirsk. Their concern mainly concerns their daughter, who suffers from developmental delays. Doctors say: “Yes, that’s how it is here…”
You have 15.43% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.