Finding Babel

Resource Information

The work Finding Babel represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Evanston Public Library. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Moving Image, Visual Materials.

Label

Finding Babel

Contributor

• hoopla digital
• Novack, David
• Pirozhkova, A. N., (Antonina Nikolaevna)
• Malaev-Babel, Andrei
• Liem, Kris.
• Schreiber, Liev

Film director

• Novack, David

Film producer

• Novack, David

Screenwriter

• Malaev-Babel, Andrei
• Liem, Kris.
• Novack, David

Voice actor

• Schreiber, Liev

Subject

• Soviet Union -- Intellectual life -- 1917-1970
• Authors, Soviet -- Biography
• Video recordings for the hearing impaired
• Babelʹ, I., (Isaak), 1894-1940

Genre

• Biography
• Video recordings for the hearing impaired

Language

eng

Summary

Finding Babel follows the grandson of famed Russian-Jewish author Isaac Babel as he searches for answers to better understand the enigmatic man he never met. Babel's writings, considered masterpieces of Russian literature, challenged the reality of life under rising Soviet totalitarianism, leading to his execution as part of Stalin's purges in 1940. Andrei Malaev-Babel journeys through locations deeply tied to the life and writings of his grandfather, where he confronts lingering traces of a turbulent history that echo in Babel's stories and in the climate and conflicts of today's Ukraine and Russia. With each stop, Andrei gets closer to the truth about his grandfather and the complex stories that he wrote with depth and hidden meaning. Mentored by Maxim Gorky, Babel was thrust upon the international stage with Red Cavalry, a bold war narrative, followed by Odessa Stories. His many short stories and stage plays examined Soviet society with a critical eye. Woven into the film are excerpts from Babel's writings read by actor Liev Schreiber, coupled with unique, ethereal animations that serve to illustrate Babel's works. Ultimately, through powerful interviews, including Babel's widow, and a painful examination of his formerly secret case file, Andrei learns more of the details of his grandfather's arrest, torture and execution. As the first American film crew allowed inside KGB archives, Andrei and the filmmakers gained unprecedented access to Babel's file. Chillingly, Andrei found his grandfather's last act of writing -- not a hoped for lost manuscript or personal letter -- but rather a shaky signature officially acknowledging his death sentence. The search for Babel shows that although the author was executed, his works still resonate powerfully with lessons for today. FEATURED IN THE FILM: -Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Nobel-nominated Russian poet. -Antonina Pirozhkova, Babel's wife and Andrei's grandmother. -Marina Vlady, renowned Russian-French actor. -Vitaly Shentalinsky, author of ARRESTED VOICES: Resurrecting the Disappeared Writers of the Soviet Regime

Cataloging source

Midwest

Characteristic

videorecording

Credits note

Directed by David Novack

Intended audience

Not rated

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PerformerNote

Voice of Isaac Babel: Liev Schreiber ; commentary, Andrei Malaev-Babel, Antonina Pirojkova, Leonid Zorin, Yelena Shubina

Runtime

88

Target audience

adult

Technique

live action