| When the Trees Were Tall | |
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1962 When the Trees Were Tall poster by Vilen Karakashev and Liliya Levshunova |
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| Directed by | Lev Kulidzhanov |
| Produced by | Lev Kulidzhanov |
| Written by | Nikolai Figurovsky |
| Starring | Inna Gulaya |
| Music by | Leonid Afanasyev |
| Cinematography | Valeri Ginzburg |
| Editing by | Natalya Loginova |
| Release date(s) | 1961 |
| Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Language | Russian |
When the Trees Were Tall (Russian: Когда деревья были большими, translit. Kogda derevya byli bolshimi) is a 1961 Soviet drama film directed by Lev Kulidzhanov. It was shown at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival.[1]
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World War II veteran Kuzma Kuzmich Iordanov has become a heavy drinker with no interest in finding employment of any kind. He joins a collective farm, claiming to be the father of Natasha, a resident there, and is forced to analyze his life when he finds himself falling in love.
Howard Thompson of The New York Times called the film "an odd, fumbling drama" and thought the hero was "the most negative, ground-down and dull protagonist the Soviet Union has sent us in a long time." He added, "Furthermore, the simple story line slides its course crabwise, wedged in between oblique, pretentious photography — some of it fetchingly pastoral — and splintered, meaningless vignettes."[2]
The film was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival.