You can’t compare this seven-hour Soviet masterpiece with an
expensive Hollywood movie. War and Peace, which was made in
1968, is not related to Titanic or The Ten
Commandments. Those are private projects, not state programs.
Because the Soviet government paid for this incredibly huge and
powerful interpretation of Tolstoy’s longest novel, it must
be compared with the Apollo 11 moon mission. Both have this as
their purpose: to express the strength and mind of the state. (SIFF
Cinema at McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St, 633-7151. Part one at 1 pm, part
two at 7 pm, $8–$10 separate admission for each part.)

Charles Mudede—who writes about film, books, music, and his life in Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, the USA, and the UK for The Stranger—was born near a steel plant in Kwe Kwe, Zimbabwe. He has no memory...