Back in the USSR
Friends Yussuf (Lev Sverdlin) and Aliosha (Nikolay Kryuchkov) survive when their boat is shipwrecked in the Caspian Sea and end up coming ashore on an island with a small community. There they set about work, one as a sailor the other as a mechanic but find their friendship put to the test when they both fall in love with the attractive Misha (Yelena Kuzmina).
So we have a storyline which sees two friends falling for the same woman and I will say now there is nothing special about this. To put it into context if this was a Hollywood movie I could quite easy picture Kirk Douglas and Glenn Ford as the sailors who end up contesting each other over a woman. Don't get me wrong as the storyline has a certain amount of charm but it isn't anything special nor to be honest is the cinematography which is good by not amazing.
But of course "By the Bluest of Seas" just happens to be a Soviet movie from 1936 and there is no subtext, no propaganda just this story of friendship and love. And that alongside the attractiveness of Yelena Kuzmina which grabs you about this movie. You really get to see another side of what is now Russia and that more than anything make this an eye opening experience.
What this all boils down to is that if you have an interest in cinematic history and foreign movies then "By the Bluest of Seas" is most certainly worth watching as it will certainly open your eyes to a side of film making you might not have seen before.
