Plots(1)
Mark Donskoy was already an established, Stalin Award-winning artist when he created his inspirational masterpiece Raduga, a depiction of life in a Nazi-occupied Ukrainian village that refuses to have its spirit crushed. The cruel Germans try everything to this end: they humiliate, starve, hang, torture, and shoot the civilians, but Soviet hearts and minds remain red. Amidst this sea of collective suffering, the figure of a former partisan named Olga rises. She has returned to the village to bear a child, only to endure the ultimate sacrifice. Soviet authorities used Raduga not only to boost the domestic morale, they also instantly exported the film as a reminder of Soviet suffering. American president Franklin Roosevelt was allegedly so moved by Raduga that he wrote Donskoy a personal letter. Different sources cite different words of American admiration; in the best version, FDR declares the following: “Soviets are fighting not only for Russian mothers and children, but also for American mothers and children.” (Viennale)
(more)Cast
![Нина Алисова](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/215/159215598_de81bc.jpg)
Нина Алисова
Soviet Union
Best movies:
The Rainbow (1943)
Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors (1964)
The Lady with the Dog (1960)
![Natalija Užvij](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/075/158075817_03fcdd.jpg)
Natalija Užvij
Russian Empire
Best movies:
The Rainbow (1943)
![Yelena Tyapkina](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/340/162340798_66cc59.jpg)
Yelena Tyapkina
Russian Empire
Best movies:
War and Peace: Part II (1966)
The Rainbow (1943)
War and Peace: Part I (1965)
![Anna Lisyanskaya](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/451/162451073_9100bf.jpg)
Anna Lisyanskaya
Russian Empire
Best movies:
The Rainbow (1943)
Remember Your Name (1974)
Heroes Are Made (1942)
Vasiliy Dashenko
Russian Empire
Best movies:
The Rainbow (1943)