Movie Diary 4/26/2022

Spent a few days at the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival. Saw and did a bunch of things, and will post more about it, but wanted to begin with a notable documentary about movies.

Oleg (Nadia Tass, 2021). A profile of Oleg Vidov, actor who came on like a Russian Alain Delon in the 60s and was quickly chewed up by the Soviet system, escaping to the West in 1985. The film is very much an approved bio – Vidov’s widow is a producer – but the fascinating story and the wealth of personal material make it a compelling slice of film history. Would like to have seen longer clips, to get a sense of what kind of actor this very photogenic individual was. The air of “what might have been” is powerful.