Silent movie at midnight: PUNISHMENT

Silent movie at midnight: PUNISHMENT (Po Zakonu) [OmeU] USSR 1926, R: Lew Kuleshov with Aleksandra Khokhlova, Sergei Komarov, Vladimir Fogel, 78 min, live on the Anna Vavilkina organ, free admission!

DE

Deep in the rugged wilds of Yukon, five gold diggers seek their fortune. When greed and distrust turn into deadly violence, only three people remain trapped in a lonely log cabin, cut off from any civilization. As they wait for the long winter and the arrival of the law, their convictions and solidarity are increasingly wavering.

With just a few characters and a setting reduced to the essentials, Lev Kuleshov develops an oppressive psychological tension. Inspired by a story by Jack London, Po Zakonu combines existential questions of law and vengeance with the formal rigour of the Soviet assembly school and is one of the most impressive works of Russian silent cinema.

EN

Deep in the Harsh Wilderness of the Yukon, Five Gold Prospectors Dream of Striking It Rich When Greed and Suspicion erupt into deadly violence, three survivors are left isolated in a lonely cabin, cut off from the outside world. As they wait for the law to arrive, their sense of justice and humanity is pushed to the breaking point. Working with a small cast and a single claustrophobic setting, Lev Kuleshov creates a remarkably tense psychological drama.

Inspired by a story by Jack London, Po Zakonu combines moral complexity with the visual precision of Soviet Montage, making it one of the defining achievements of 1920s Russian cinema.