Mikhail Matusovsky

Mousetrap

The criminal history is inscribed in the everyday life of prosperous, apparently quite prosperous people. Suddenly, the truth is revealed, hidden for the time being under the guise of respectability. The past is returning, creating mysterious murders ...

A Bus Driver

Not young bus driver goes to the next trip. In this trip he recalls his childhood during WW2. But there is another danger people among passengers of the bus.

Front Without Flanks

A first episode in the trilogy about the Russian partisan's resistance against the Nazi occupation of Russia during WWII. The film is set in August of 1941, when the Nazi forces invaded and occupied the European part of Russia. Major Mlynsky is in charge of the special group of partisans. His group is absorbing other small groups of Russian soldiers, who managed to survive from the attacks of the overwhelming Nazi forces. The Nazi Armies are advancing to Moscow. Major Mlynsky is organizing the Russian partisan's resistance against the Nazis, behind the enemy lines.

Blockade: The Luga Defense Line

In June 1941, the Extraordinary Defense Headquarters of Leningrad, under the leadership of Zhdanov and Voroshilov, decided to build the Luga defensive line. Heavy fighting west of Pskov forced units of the front to withdraw, and on July 9, Pskov was also abandoned. The battles in the Luga direction held back the enemy. The first attacks of the Germans, intending to cross the Luga line on the move, were repulsed with heavy losses for them.

Inspector of Criminal Investigation

A detective investigating the robbery also tries to help young man to avoid criminal future.

The Gypsy

Based on the story of the same name by Anatoliy Kalinin. A young village woman, Klavdiya Pukhlyakova, the mother of a newborn girl, finds a gypsy boy at the crushed kibitka under the tanks. Having pity on the child, she takes him home and raises him as her own son. 17 years pass. Once in the village appears a lonely gypsy Budulai, who has experienced a lot. He very quickly gained the sympathy of Pukhlyakova's adoptive son. Suspecting that Budulai is the father of her gypsy boy, Klavdiya fears that the peace of the family will be disturbed...

Friendship Triumphs

Film about the third 'Weltfestspiele der Jugend und Studenten für den Frieden' in East Berlin, 1951. West Germany is represented as a degenerate country which has been occupied by the Americans and is still inclined to fascism. We see the construction of the stadium, the departure and arrival of the delegations, the opening and closing by Enrico Berlinguer, a sports event, the parade of the delegations, a visit to Potsdam, folk dancing, and police violence against youngsters from West Berlin who want to visit East Germany because of the games. The film is interlaced with shots from the Korean War and a parade by NATO-troops in West Germany. Featuring Robert Montgomery, Konrad Adenauer, Wilhelm Pieck, Dwight Eisenhower, Robert Leer and Erich Honecker. The crew comprised no less than 24 cameramen. This project was the first great colour film Ivens co-operated in.