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The Great Consoler
The Great Consoler
7.6
/10
45 Ratings

THE GREAT CONSOLER

Великий утешитель

Directed by Lev Kuleshov
Soviet Union, 1933
Drama

Synopsis

America, 1899. Bill Porter is in prison. His writing skills earn him privileges, sparing him the inhumane treatment of other prisoners. Aware of this brutality but mindful of his advantage, he refuses to write about prison. Instead, he consoles his maltreated friends with wildly romantic fantasies.

Synopsis

America, 1899. Bill Porter is in prison. His writing skills earn him privileges, sparing him the inhumane treatment of other prisoners. Aware of this brutality but mindful of his advantage, he refuses to write about prison. Instead, he consoles his maltreated friends with wildly romantic fantasies.

Our take

The Soviets venerated the great American short story writer O. Henry, and this singular account of his pre-fame time in prison takes a meta approach to biography. Blending fact with literary fantasy, Lev Kuleshov weaves an intricate conceptual tapestry to smuggle sly commentary on the Soviet regime.