“Siberiade” is a spectacular film by Andrei Konchalovsky. The four part epic story reveals many ancient and modern themes, in an ambitious effort to understand humanness in times of cultural instability.

The title of this post is in reference to Siberiade character Afanasy Ustyuzhanin, who abandons the social and economic responsibilities of his tiny village to clear a road through the woods, on course to a distant region told in folk stories as a source of great danger (”the Devil’s Mane”). His friends and family criticize this irrational pursuit. Society fears that the road will lead to spiritual ruin. The labor is backbreaking and his course is openly self-destructive.

Despite all physical and emotional obstacles, Afanasy continues until ultimately he is overcome by nature and dies on the job; pretty heavy stuff. And the question is clear - why? Why is he obsessed with this project? What drives a man to such madness?

Character Afanasy brings to mind a brush clearing fanatic down in Crawford, Texas.

Indeed, Oliver Stone paid tribute to Konchalovsky in his recent work “W.” Stone’s sequence of young W. working with a Texas oil crew invokes several scenes from Siberiade. It’s hard to not  view W’s behavior in the context of characters Aleksey Ustyuzhanin and his tree chopping grandfather Afanasy.

These two excellent films are essential viewing for anyone who seeks to understand the social, cultural, and environmental impacts of economic globalization. I encourage watching them both in succession, starting with Stone.