I was transfixed by this wonderful film. The setting is incredibly beautiful in contrast to the town and it's suppressed and resigned population. A true teacher, a thoughtful and caring woman comes to the town because her husband, also an artist, has been wrongfully convicted of a crime. She still loves him and tries to cheer him but he is cold and distant. Instead she pours her love and deeply felt ideas of the emotions great art can convey into her teaching. The town seems incapable of dealing with a bully who has cowed the local population and who has an older brother who is a violent criminal who is about to be released from prison. This kind and caring woman is also brave and determined to see justice done. She is severely beaten by the brother. In the last shot, the young and talented student she tried to save is looking at someone on a boat out of this hellish place. So whether or not she survived the attack and can return to St. Petersburg is ambiguous. I chose to believe she did. I do not think the film is overtly political but rather a story about the choices people make and how fear can make life not worth living. It shows that to have a good, safe and rewarding life, one must also have ideals and courage and be willing to stand up to Injustice. Corruption takes many forms, most of them when good people stand by and let bullies win.
Review of The Pencil
