Tag Archive

Director: Roman Davidov
Release date: 1963
Rating: ★★★
Review:

‘The Shareholder’ is the third of three animated Soviet propaganda shorts aimed at American capitalism from 1963, the other two being ‘Mister Twister‘ and ‘The Millionaire‘.

Of the three this short is by far the most interesting visually. The short uses a strikingly graphic style and cel animation of the highest quality. The animators working on this short clearly have full command of the human and animal form, making this propaganda short a feast for the eye. The story, on the other hand, is not as attractive: at 24 minutes it is slow, meandering, repetitive and overlong.

‘The Shareholder’ is worker Michael Chase, who is made shareholder of the Pearson company. But when he gets fired, he soon discovers that this share is worth nothing, nor are his possessions, which were all bought on credit. Broken and without a job he wanders the streets.

The film’s highlight is the scene in which Michael Chase loses all his possessions: they change into cheaper and cheaper forms for his eye, before vanishing altogether. It’s also interesting to note that the film predicts how robotization leads to unemployment. However, the film’s message remains fuzzy, and its ending unclear.

Watch ‘The Shareholder’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘The Shareholder’ is available on the DVD set ‘Animated Soviet Propaganda’