welcome or no unauthorized entry

Welcome! or No Unauthorized Entry (Добро пожаловать, или Посторонним вход воспрещён) is a 1964 comedy film by Russian director Elem Klimov.

Whilse his parents were ultra-Communists (his name, Elem, is an acronym for “Engels, Lenin, Marx” – a trendy practice among young Communist parents back then),  Klimov himself made several films that satirize and subtly criticize the Soviet regime.  Welcome is striking in the way it’s shot and how much it makes use of familiar compositions from Soviet posters and art.

“We shot everything head-on,” Klimov explained, “like posters or portraits. [...] If the picture has any originality, it lies in the eclectic style, the mixture of theater-poster and documentary.

Welcome is set in a Young Pioneer (Communist scouts) camp. Supposedly a paradise for children, the camp is run to such strict rules by its dictatorial leader that the kids don’t have much fun at all. When a boy, Kostya Inochkin, breaks a rule by swimming beyond the official boundaries, he is expelled.

Comedy was a big problem for the USSR. Comedy was dangerous because it is anarchic, it is subversive and could poke fun at leaders. It’s not surprising that this film ran into trouble – it was temporarily banned. There’s a famous scene after Inochkin’s expulsion, and it’s alleged that this is what caused that ban. Inochkin imagines his Granny dropping dead from shock and shame when she finds out he is expelled; he marches in a funeral parade (the Soviets did like a good parade) under a banner depicting Granny and the legend “Why Did You Kill Your Grandmother?“

Amusing? Yes, but the picture of the Granny supposedly looked like Khrushchev…

Here’s a photograph taken by Constructivist artist and photographer Rodchenkо. It has a similar style to the still from Klimov’s movie:

It’s easy to see why the portrait in Welcome might have been mistaken for a Soviet leader.

In Soviet public displays – including demonstrations – everything was carefully choreographed (a natural source of satire in Soviet art – Vladimir Voinovich’s novel “Chonkin” has the famous line “Go and organize a spontaneous demonstration!”) . Here’s a famous photograph taken by Rodchenko in 1925 called “Gathering for a Demonstration”:

Here’s another Rodchenko photograph of marching Soviets:

Here’s a still from Klimov’s film – 40 years later – which appears influenced not only by the organized march theme but also by Rodchenko’s Constructivist photographic aesthetic:

That question mark shaped formation is quite a poke in the eye for the Soviet regime!

After his expulsion, Inochkin sneaks back into camp (he never tells his Granny what happened), where he is hidden and looked after by the other kids and some adults under the noses of the camp’s leadership.

Here’s a beautiful shot of young Inochkin returning to the camp – which now looks rather sinister – by dead of night. The formerly innocent statues of female Pioneers become symbols of what is now a repressive regime that threatens the newly vulnerable Inochkin and dwarf him:

I just like this particular shot, I didn’t choose it because it reminded me of a Rodchenko, but here’s a photograph of a young woman walking through an “alley” like Inochkin’s but this time comprised of men:
Although it’s supposed to be a celebration of Soviet achievements in sport, there’s something slightly oppressive about it.

Of course, this is just a brief, quickly written sketch of the photographic aesthetics of the film – there’s a great deal more there to explore. If you understand Russian, then you can watch the full-length film on YouTube here.
If you don’t speak Russian, then there is a subtitled version out there, perhaps in your local artsy rental store.

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