As the film noir genre continued to boom with interest in the west, the Soviet Union decided to take a shot at the genre itself. Crime and comedy were already genres that were doing quite well in the USSR, with plenty of great titles around. But thinking about it prior to watching: I didn't recall ever seeing a Soviet era film that I would actually consider to be noir, or at least in a similar fashion to what I had seen elsewhere. This was the 1960s, after all. The Cold War a constant threat between two major industrial powerhouses and the global economic boom that came with the end of the Second World War. Now, for a film noir film from the USSR, it came to no surprise that it had a bit of a message that as expected supported the USSR's core principles: being a good communist. This was quite common back in the day, many films detailing heroic feats or displaying the ways in which a bad communist might act. Though never really being too strong with the message. Not nearly the same as Hollywood has been over the past decade.
Beware of the Car has a message that aims at some form of vigilantism. Where a car thief is justified in his acts purely because he goes around stealing cars from the corrupt officials within the government. The comedic side of the film often poking jokes at him for being a bit of a loser, unmarried and always travelling given his main job is an insurance salesman. Which brings him a lot of interesting customers which he ends up choosing as his much-deserved victims. Stories like this are common in Soviet films, where a crime may otherwise be committed, but is more or less accepted given the people experiencing the crime are corrupt of enemies of the party in some form. Where they're getting what they deserved for going against the main idea of the communist ideology, often relating to profiteering and greed. Taking advantage of others instead of being a giver. Our protagonist is that, where he does profit from the sales of the cars he steals, however again treading thin by donating that money to charity.
The comedic side comes in with some of the more deadpan types of humour. Where the protagonist is quite open to people regarding what he is doing, in one case he is attempting to steal a car and is noticed by someone in a desperate rush to get to the station, asking if he can get a ride. He just openly admits to trying to steal the car and that it doesn't belong to him, to which the rushing man simply doesn't care even if it makes him an accomplice on the way there. In other moments it's more the ways in which the people around him interact with him. A thief usually being someone with higher intelligence, instead he's rather ordinary. Detective moments come with whatever he leaves behind at the scene, as people he know end up being the ones to investigate these recent thefts. Of course, this makes him panic a bit more about his acts, but not enough to stop him. Though he does, around the investigator, hear of what they're catching up on regarding his appearance and begin to make changes to it in front of him.
There's a bit of a cat-and-mouse approach to some of the story as our protagonist attempts to steal a specific car from a specific corrupt person, a bit earlier on we actually see a bit of context, how he's tormented for being relatively poor though he's clearly not pursuing money by good means. The attempts to steal the car shifting with a few failed attempts. And of course nobody around seeming to take note of the connections being very clearly made with the outcomes. For a film noir type of film it doesn't quite fit the noir genre I've seen much from before, but I think this stands up on its own with some similar features of the genre. The music, the style of directing, and the ways in which clues are made and taken note of. I wouldn't go as far as saying black and white and some detective elements makes for a detective film noir story, after all. I actually think I preferred it for this, for the fact that it wasn't trying to be overly artistic. And it still felt incredibly unique for the Soviet cinema I have seen. Similar styles of comedy here and there, but certainly a different story. Also, those comedic elements.
I was quite surprised at the directing and cinematography too. This is a film that shows quite a lot of different environments, a lot of busy streets in the city and interiors of different buildings. It was a really interesting glimpse into the Soviet past, where one might only see some small signs of the way of life from before, especially going as far back as 1966. Those beautiful old Volga cars. The wallpapers. The simplistic look at life in the 60s before the technology and phones and Internet. It didn't have to go that far to show so many different places for its story, and it's quite rare for films even today to go to such a length, but it did add more to the world. Painting more of the story regarding its settings. Sometimes the story breaks the fourth wall with some narration, giving more depth to the story. Sometimes it went the conventional cartoonish route with some of its more action sequences. Sometimes it felt like a combination of different film styles and genres.
I think I found a lot of enjoyment from the film. For the story to the way it was told. To the rarer glimpse at the past that I find myself attempting to find more glimpses of to photograph and document even within my own life here in Armenia. A surprisingly good, lesser-known film of the Soviet 60s that I think is well worth the watch if you love some black and white films.