The Childhood of Maxim Gorky

The first part of director Mark Donskoy's trilogy adaptation of "The Autobiography of Maxim Gorky" offers an affecting look at the Soviet author’s early adolescence, as the 12-year-old, newly orphaned Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (Aleksei Lyarsky) is sent to live with his stern dye maker grandfather (Mikhail Troyanovsky) and doting grandmother (Varvara Massilitinova), and has formative encounters with the impoverished locals. AKA: "My Childhood." 100 min. Standard; Soundtrack: Russian Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English; bonus short "Moscow: Clad in Snow" (1908). In Russian with English subtitles.