This one of a few renditions of the famous Aleksandr Pushkin story entitled The Queen of Spades. The story was written nearly a decade and a half ago and since has incited many recreations, particularly in Russia.
The basic storyline revolves around a young nobleman who hears that a wealthy older Countess may know the secret to a specific progression of cards that ensures victory during a betting game. Understandably intrigued he goes in pursuit of this secret and in story like fashion finds a bit more than he bargained for and learned a few lessons along the way. The story has been regaled as often as it has because it carries a specific symbolic weight with it in Russia, specifically surrounding the inequality found amongst her people during the period of its inception.
Story Telling through Moving Picture
The Queen of Spades is quite a notable betting related movie and story as it combines quite a few of the common associations with the industry as well as a fair bit of the overall culture and moral approach. The beauty of film is that a lot of imagery can be explored and through it a lot of personal interpretation which, to the individual, is largely the entire experience. Using different settings and experiences to invite the viewers on the writer’s intended journey, the betting industry is one of the more notable such exploitable aspects. This is because the event easily conveys exhilaration as those that have made wagers along the same lines can quickly put themselves in the shoes of the situation and experience the exciting effects of playing.
The story found within The Queen of Spades film is one definitely centered on betting, with a representation of that wagering fountain of youth, the infallible betting scheme. The ability to turn a wager into a sure thing widens the eyes of us all and coupled with the moral and social ambiguities if the industry and the period makes for some rather full film watching.
A Quick Rundown on the Film’s Plot
The protagonist in this story is portrayed through a young nobleman who sets out to discover the secret progression of cards that ensures betting victory. Unfortunately for the young man, when he does get round to confronting the Countess with the secret he ends up scaring her to death. Later she returns as a ghost and lets him in on the secret, Ace, 3 and 7, the winning progression. He immediately uses this information to his advantage and though it seems to be working in the early stages he later loses all of his money and most of his mind to realise that there isn’t really a secret at all.
Cast and Conclusion of this Russian Film
The cast of this particular version of The Queen of Spades, the 1982 version, are composed purely of Russian speakers as the film itself is only in Russian. This is demonstration enough to display the connection between this nation and this particular story, as they’ve made several versions in the years since, the majority of which are tailored for Russian viewership specifically. Overall the story seems quite solid.