Cinematic field of experiments: historical reality in the film “Captain Volkonogov Escaped” (2021)

This article examines the specificity of representing the past in contemporary cinema, in which the principle of strict realism is no longer absolute. In modern feature films, interpretations of historical events are constructed not on the basis of historiographical evidence, but through the deployment of cinema’s expressive resources. Consequently, the past is apprehended via the viewer’s visual perception of the constructed historical reality. Such films thus become distinctive documents of historical culture, prompting the development of new methodological approaches for their analysis as historical sources. Using "Captain Volkonogov Escaped" (2021), directed by N. Merkulova and A. Chupov, as a case study, the authors identify the cinematic strategies by which a historical reality is generated. The analysis integrates narrative, visual, and semiotic perspectives, focusing on the structuring of the film’s storytelling, the chromatic solutions, cinematographic and editing techniques, as well as the use of symbols and metaphors. The film’s departure from the realist method, its engagement with the theme of violence, its pluralistic interpretive stance, and its allegorical mode of narration allow it to be classified as a “new historical film.” This category challenges audience expectations shaped by conventional realism and offers an alternative vision of the Great Terror in Leningrad in 1938. Viewer responses indicate that, despite criticisms of historical inaccuracy, the film’s cultural references remain legible and meaningful. The film draws upon the aesthetics of comic books and endless runner video games. This “clip-like” quality differentiates it from traditional historical film, which seeks to evoke authenticity. As a result, the boundaries between reality and imagination, the familiar and the fantastic, the past and the present become fluid. This raises critical questions regarding the capacities and constraints of artistic representation in historical cinema, and underscores the value of film reviews as supplementary materials for research.