Kommissar (The Commissar)

The Commissar of the title is a Soviet functionary wielding power over a remote Jewish village. Neither she nor the villagers care for the status quo, but over a period of several weeks both come to accept the situation and to establish a détente. The film's pro-Semitism was not entirely in keeping with Soviet policy of the 1960s, thus the film was shelved and hidden from the general public. Only with the thawing of East-West relationships, and the political upheaval in Russia itself, was “The Commissar” deemed "safe" for general consumption. The film was finally distributed in 1987, twenty years after its completion. (Hal Erickson)