"The Chief of Chukotka," "Mama Got Married," "The Eldest Son," "September Vacation," "Marry the Captain," and "Poor, Poor Pavel"—the director of these iconic films is Vitaly Melnikov. The son of an "enemy of the people," a student of Yutkevich and Eisenstein, a witness to Stalin's "personality cult" and its debunking, Melnikov managed to create his truthful and sincere masterpieces at a time when life on screen was supposed to be... see more