Cult Cinema: The Rifleman of the Voroshilov Regiment (1999) - Reviewed

Courtesy of Most-Cinematograph

No matter what country in the world it originates from, the so-called “rape-revenge” subgenre is always going to be a problematic one for filmgoers.  Such was the case of Stanislav Govorukhin’s 1999 critical and commercial favorite The Rifleman of the Voroshilov Regiment or Voroshilov Sharpshooter in some territories.  

Based on the novel Woman on Wednesdays by Viktor Pronin and co-adapted for the screen by Govorukhin, Yuri Polyakov and Aleksandr Borodyanskiy, the film which went on to win the prestigious Russian Guild of Film Critics award for Best Actor Mikhail Ulyanov but also sparked controversy for its graphic violence and tendency towards vigilantism.  In the years since however, it can be categorized as Russia’s answer to the Death Wish film series with Ulyanov as its Charles Bronson.

Courtesy of Most-Cinematograph

Retired WWII veteran Ivan Alfonin (Ulyanov) lives with his young granddaughter Katya (Anna Sinyakina) in a local flat.  Across the street live three bored teens who pass their Wednesdays by picking up prostitutes for sex.  Unable to procure one this time around, they set their sights on Katya who is returning home and lure her into their flat under the pretense of a “birthday party” where they proceed to drug and gang rape her.  

At first the perpetrators are arrested only to be let off lightly when it turns out the father of one of the kids is a senior officer in the police force who uses his influence to have the charges dropped.  Angered by the seeming betrayal of his comrades sweeping the crimes against his granddaughter under the rug, he purchases a SVD sniper rifle from an illegal arms dealer and takes the law into his own hands.

Courtesy of Most-Cinematograph

Initially opening on raw sexual violence committed against a minor, the film quickly shifts gears and aligns itself with Ivan’s crusade to avenge his traumatized granddaughter’s honor, including explosive scenes where the war veteran angrily rebukes a superior officer for asking him to let the matter go.  Anchored by a powerful leading performance by Ulyanov who makes great use of his physicality to appear like a lowly local elder hobbling on by for groceries when in fact he is a cunning and methodical warrior thinking all the time.  Unlike the Death Wish series which out and out aims to kill off the wrongdoers, The Rifleman of the Voroshilov Regiment doles out its just desserts unto the rapists in a myriad of ways that are unexpectedly humorous and rewarding.
 
With a subtle original score by The Thief composer Vladimir Dashkevich and arresting 1.33:1 cinematography by Ten Little Indians director of photography Gennadi Engstrem, The Rifleman of the Voroshilov Regiment is a handsomely rendered character study of a man who conjures up his dark past to take on the bloody present.  Not an easy film to get through, particularly those opening scenes which will make some flee for the exits.  

Courtesy of Most-Cinematograph

But the journey towards the much-awaited payoff of sweet revenge are immensely satisfying in turn and speak volumes to our elders and their own untapped reserves of ferocious energy waiting to be reawakened.  Not for all tastes but for fans of European cinema and the ever-controversial rape-revenge subgenre of film anchored by a gifted central performance that makes you care about the ordeal and poetic justice doled out, The Rifleman of the Voroshilov Regiment is essential viewing.

--Andrew Kotwicki