In That Land

An old Russian grandmother or "babushka", who took part in the Battle of Stalingrad, sacrificed everything for her children and even sold her house to get money for her grandchildren, is shuttled among those very grandchildren--products of the "new" Russia--none of whom want her to stay with them since she's too much of a "burden" for them.

Director Lydia Bobrova pictures the bleak life in the Russian countryside by showing some events in the life of three brothers and their families. The three brothers are different in character, but all suffer from the dreariness of kolchoz life. The title is derived from a nostalgic Russian song. The wild geese have the possibility of moving on to milder climes, a possibility that Russian country people don’t have.

Yar is a place that keeps people, and they can't part with it. If they leave, they will die. The only one who wants to escape from the Yar is our main character Karev. But leaving the Yar, he thereby breaks with all traditional values, and unwittingly becomes the cause of the death of people dear to him...