A parable intended to glorify self-sacrifice in the cause of building the earthly paradise promised by Communism. The geologist hero has proved by theory that immense diamond reserves must lie under a region of barren wilderness - where no trace of the minerals have ever actually been seen. The spectacular hardships he and his companions undergo are supposed to secure
well, more toil and hardship - but then, in some distant future which no one now living will see, the people will be prosperous and happy.
The film conceives happiness and prosperity to be one and the same, the simple working out of a material process, and applies the visual rhetoric of sacred art to materialism. Quite effectively applies it: the explorers are Soviet "New Men" (and one woman), and they bubble with enthusiasm for the Radiant Future; while the landscapes are gorgeously stark, a suitable backdrop for sainthood. (The manly tracker who guides the group is so avid for inhospitable spaces he appears demonic even before the plot requires it.) But the striking look of the film and the thrilling dangers can barely conceal a vein of tawdry sentimentality. It will seem convincing to those who are predisposed to be convinced.
The film conceives happiness and prosperity to be one and the same, the simple working out of a material process, and applies the visual rhetoric of sacred art to materialism. Quite effectively applies it: the explorers are Soviet "New Men" (and one woman), and they bubble with enthusiasm for the Radiant Future; while the landscapes are gorgeously stark, a suitable backdrop for sainthood. (The manly tracker who guides the group is so avid for inhospitable spaces he appears demonic even before the plot requires it.) But the striking look of the film and the thrilling dangers can barely conceal a vein of tawdry sentimentality. It will seem convincing to those who are predisposed to be convinced.