Aleksandr Askoldov

'Marat Grinberg’s film companion to The Commissar... aims to demonstrate that Aleksandr Askoldov’s only film is not only an indispensable historical artifact for understanding late Soviet cinematic politics, but also one of the greatest films of European post-war cinema, placing Askoldov in the company of acknowledged masters such as Francois Truffaut, Luchino Visconti and Jean-Luc Godard... Grinberg... excels in ferreting out literary antecedents to the film [and] is most effective in explaining the myriad ways in which Askoldov embeds Jewish motifs, images, language and folk culture into the film... It is hard to imagine a more complete analysis of this aspect of The Commissar.'

-- Denise J. Youngblood, Studies in Russian and Soviet Cinema

'[Grinberg's] book on one of the most important films of the glasnost' era will be of interest and importance to movie buffs as well as students and teachers of Russian film and literature.' 

-- Marya Zeigler, Slavic and East European Journal

'Maria BelodubrovskayaThese and future KinoSputniks will be cherished by Russian-film fans and used in courses on Russian cinema and culture. All three contribute not only to the project of writing Russian film history, but also to explorations of Russian/Soviet culture and history. In fact, whether this was intended or not, all three ultimately address the question of nationality and nation in Russian and Soviet culture: the controversial treatment of the Jews in The Commissar, the celebration of the Ukrainians in Shadows, and the place of Russia vis-à-vis the west in Russian Ark.'

-- Maria Belodubrovskaya, Slavic Re