1952: Ivan and Aleksandra

Synopsis

This grim Bulgarian drama explores the effects that the postwar Stalinist-led social reorganization of that country had upon the lives not only of those who suffered public denunciation, but upon those who were coerced into going along with those denunciations against their will, and especially upon the children. In the story, the schoolgirl Alexandra's father was a celebrated partisan who fought against the Nazis in World War Two. His prominence must have been considered a threat, because at the beginning of this film, he denounced and arrested. Not only that, but Alexandra (Monika Budjonova) has her cherished Young Pioneer (communist youth league) membership stripped from her. Her teachers have been forced to publicly humiliate her for being the daughter of an enemy of the state, and her friends, except for the inexplicably loyal Ivan (Kliment Corbadziev) have had to abandon her.