The Pioneer's Violin
Movie| Title | Скрипка пионера |
| User score | 5.6 |
| Release date | Jun 5, 1971 |
| Genre | Animation |
| Director | Boris Stepantsev |
| Production country | Soviet Union |
| Production companies | Soyuzmultfilm |
| Run time | 8 min. |
Subtle coloring and an impressionistic approach to landscape distinguish this patriotic animated short set to music. After a flourishing Soviet hamlet is destroyed by Nazi planes, the sole survivor is confronted by a hulking Nazi commando in a tank. The military man tries to cajole the young violinist into repeating a jaunty harmonica melody at gunpoint but the boy strikes up a noble song of resistance instead. Stepantsev's film may romance the idea of martyrdom but it does so with a gravity not often found in similar films.
