Poem of the Sea 1958

General Fedorchenko returns home

Returning after many years to the places he holds dear, General Fedorchenko reflects on his past. He recalls the day he left his home village, a moment shaped by pressure from his mother and the collective farm chairman. His youthful ambitions pulled him toward a wider world, and he never looked back.

Journey through Nova Kakhovka on the way home

His path takes him through Nova Kakhovka, a city pulsing with growth as the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant rises. The town’s energy and optimism mirror the changes sweeping rural life. The journey frames the contrast between promised progress and the cost borne by the countryside.

Arrival and shock: the farm drained of its workforce

Upon arriving in the village, he discovers the collective farm has been drained of workers as graduates have joined the grand project. The sense of a community’s obituary hangs in the air as traditions fade. The village’s quiet transitions beneath the shadow of the dam.

Returning elders: old colleagues come back

He learns that others who left the village decades ago are returning: an architect, a polar explorer, a pilot, a writer, a deputy minister, and six colonels. They all drift through the square with faces half-remembered and half-forgotten. The reunion is clumsy at first, as they struggle to recognize one another.

First reunions: recognition and emotion

The crowd’s initial recognitions are imperfect, and names fail to align with faces. Old friendships flicker back to life as emotions surge. They begin to piece together who they are and where they stood in each other’s pasts.

Zarudny’s summons: letters to gather the villagers

Savva Zarudny, the collective farm chairman, has sent countless letters summoning those who once called the village home. The letters promise a chance to see their beloved village one last time. His effort underscores the sense that time is running out.

The village’s fate announced

On the village square, Zarudny delivers somber news: the village’s days are numbered. It sits in the flood zone, destined to be submerged when the reservoir is filled. The announcement casts a pall over the gathering as memories collide with inevitability.

Exodus explained: the plant drains the village

The construction of the hydroelectric project has pulled away the village’s lifeblood, with nearly all recent graduates joining the grand project. The mass departure reshapes the community and erodes its traditions. The young generation’s dreams stand in stark contrast to the villagers’ fading home.

Future flood: the artificial sea replaces the village

The reservoir’s operation will replace cottages, clubs, schools, and graves with an artificial sea. The landscape of memory will be swallowed by water and progress. The film foreshadows the loss as an inescapable fate.

A memory of departure: the day he left

Fedorchenko revisits the day he left home, a moment when his mother and the village chairman urged him to stay. Despite their pleas, his ambitions pulled him toward a larger future. The memory anchors the film’s meditation on fate and choice.

A memory of classmates seeking a better future

He recalls classmates who also left for cities to pursue education and work. They carried dreams of a better life, away from the village’s mothballed routines. Those departures built the distance that now defines the community.