In the 1980’s, a battle of wills across oceans was reaching a tipping point. The United States and the Soviet Union had been embroiled in tense conflict since the end of World War II. The eastern half of Europe was dominated by Communist influence. The western side was living under democratic ideals. To that point and since, there had never been a direct skirmish. Yet mistrust and hostility always laid the feeling that direct warfare was near. The difficult part was that both sides felt ideologically and socially opposed to one another. Values and attitudes about life had a clear contrast.
White Nights, released in 1985, portrayed the human factor of suffering within this government framework. Both the U.S. and Soviet Union are not spared from criticism. Therefore each particular audience (representing whatever side the viewer sympathized with) had grievances with the film’s undertaking. Fortunately a powerful script and dynamic performances allowed fresh entertainment and suspense to unfold.
The director of the film, Taylor Hackford, had gone on to direct The Devil’s Advocate (1997) and Ray (2004). He holds a visual style that is subtle and intense. Slow-paced medium shots present the realism that the characterization is trying to create. Mikhail Baryshnikov, the lead star of the film, is a famous ballet dancer who already achieved an Academy Award in 1977 for The Turning Point. The other lead, Gregory Hines, was an accomplished tap dancer who scored comedic and Broadway acclaim. He starred in The Cotton Club just a year earlier and went on to work in Waiting to Exhale (1995).
The supporting cast was just as redeeming and exciting as the main roles. Everyone had a significant part to play and the results were memorable. Jerzy Skolimowski, a polish actor who had been a part of several American films, was the chief adversary in the story. He also had done screenwriting and wrote the script for the 1962 Roman Polanski debut film, Knife in the Water. Helen Mirren, a British celebrity, had gained an extraordinary reputation for theater life. In The Queen (2006), she would score a Golden Globe and Academy Award. Isabella Rossellini, model and philanthropist, had her screen debut in White Nights. She was also the daughter of actress Ingrid Bergman, best remembered for the war drama, Casablanca(1942). She has since gone on to appear in many U.S. films.
The central theme in White Nights is one that mirrors the true story of its main performer, Baryshnikov. The dancer plays Nikolai, a popular star in the United States who had defected from the Soviet Union. In real life, Baryshnikov had done the same thing. Only in his case it occurred in 1974 and with Canada. The goal was the same for both individuals: to achieve further realized success in the west with the art form. In the Soviet Union at the time, it was a limited layer of ability in which to display one’s talents. The philosophical thinking there was that individual achievement was a detriment if it did not enhance the collective will of the state. Nikolai is on board a plane bound for Tokyo when mechanical failure strikes it mid-air. The dancer is terrified not only for personal safety, but the fact that they are forced to make an emergency landing in Siberia. Because of his defection, the Russian leadership views Nikolai as a traitor. Military secures control of him when troops arrive to assist the passengers aboard the plane.
At this point enters the villain of the film. Colonel Chaiko (played with ruthless charisma by Skolimowski) is a KGB leader and informs his captured prize that he intends to hold him in Russia and have him perform there for the Kirov, an important ballet establishment. His plan is to let the rest of the public believe that Nikolai has been severely injured by the plane incident and in need of long recovery time. The defector is scared and angry by his situation, but little is afforded to him to change it. He meets his match with Raymond (starring Hines), who is assigned by Chaiko to keep charge of him. Raymond is a former tap dancer in the United States, but defected to the Soviet Union because of how African-Americans were treated on a social and professional level. In his mind he feels he could find a better life of equality within the Communist walls.
The contrast between Nikolai and Raymond could not be more potent. Both have opposite allegiances in their lives and they clash because of it. Yet both people are united because their motivations for defection are caused by the same reason: to achieve a better life. The backdrop to all of this drama is the Cold War.
Raymond manages to hold Nikolai in his possession, despite repeated escape attempts. Next a fragile woman named Darya enters the picture. She is the loyal but emotional Russian wife of Raymond. The couple is devoted to each other and determined to make their future together work, despite the enormous political conflicts happening around their country. Darya is played with sensitivity and compassion by Rossellini.
The one glimpse of hope Nikolai finds himself with is a controversial relationship with his past. Galina, an aging ballerina starring Mirren, encounters him in preparation for his appearance at the Kirov. They had dated and been in love before, but he had left the country and she chose to stay behind. In her mind she was the one rejected more than Russia. To say their attitudes towards each other are aggravated would be an understatement. Mirren lights up the screen in several confrontational sequences detailing a hurt lover. The obvious truth to the audience is that Galina still loves Nikolai.
Crystallizing the whole film is a series of dramatic dancing. That is the core of artistic dreaming and human frustration in seeing it fully free. At the beginning of the film, Raymond takes part in a singing and dance number of the famous play, Porgy and Bess. In the middle of the film, he dances alone in order to vent his stress over the Nikolai imprisonment and resistance to that. Nikolai, however, opens the film in a startling ballet drama that is not clear right away if it is theater or life. Towards the end of the film, the two individuals join in a dance together to ward off suspicions from the spying Chaiko. In this scene, perhaps the most famous of White Nights, Baryshnikov and Hines appear comfortable yet tentative as each tries to hold their own with differing styles competing.
The movie reaches its high point of personal choice when Darya tearfully informs her husband that she is pregnant. Aware of his conversations with Nikolai and own personal misgivings, Raymond is torn on how to handle the news. He decides that a part of him still longing for him in the United States is not just a rebellious moment. He sees that in the Soviet Union he had not escaped all he was running from. Instead he found a new and more dangerous level of injustice. From there he decides he has to make an escape.
At the same time, Nikolai secures aid from Galina when she gives word to the nearest American Consulate about his capture. To the media, Nikolai was being treated humanely by his former place of residence. Now that they are aware of his dilemma, the American team makes it their mission to see him set free and safe. His dance manager is frantic and insistent upon taking action. However, political heads in power know that this situation must be managed properly in order to prevent a direct confrontation. So was the political line in the sand being taken by the government leaders of both countries for decades. Always was the fear and danger for one side giving in to anger with violence.
Despite the hardship of their circumstances, Nikolai and Raymond had created a strong friendship. Each respects the other for their talent and their convictions. Each are able to see beyond racial lines and to the core of what human dignity is all about. Nikolai implores Raymond to go back to the U.S. with him. Raymond recognizes that the life of his unborn child will forever be impaired if it grows up to be trapped under Colonel Chaiko like he is. Together they decide to make a daring escape for the consulate. Darya is at first fiercely resistant. She breaks down and tells her husband to retract his wishes. Raymond is firm and insists this choice is more for them than it is for him. Seeing that the love is real, Darya wipes her eyes and climbs on board the plan.
The ending is one of the most suspenseful sequences in all of 80’s cinema. Raymond distracts Chaiko with beer and conversation as his wife and Nikolai flee the building in which the dancer had been held for months. Raymond was going to run with them but Chaiko and his crew had suddenly arrived and he feared the consequences to his wife getting caught. Nikolai drags a reluctant Darya with him and they manage to reach the American contact set up by Galina. At that time, Chaiko realizes the ruse and demands his men go after Nikolai. With a crowd of Americans and the press gathered inside the consulate gates, a nervous Nikolai arrives with Darya. Chaiko manages to get there just in time and escorts his captive over. The goal is to make it look like Chaiko is “returning” Nikolai after a long recuperation period. This way the truth stays hidden.
Nikolai is set free and manages to take Darya with him. The two are embraced with cheers of happiness by the American people. Meanwhile, Raymond finds himself afraid as he is driven in a car at night. Inside is Chaiko and he details with relish that Nikolai has abandoned his friend. They arrive at a mysterious place in which the colonel demands his former aide walk forward. For an instant the viewer does not know what to expect and the fear is real. The stakes are high because a failure in this escape attempt would have meant certain death for all three. Light is visible at the end of the long tunnel and Darya is waiting with joy. Nikolai is right beside her and urges his friend to come ahead. Raymond is tentative and wonders for a moment if this is a hallucination on his part. The film closes with a reunion because a prisoner trade has been made between the Americans and the Russians. This ensures that Nikolai and Raymond are free in America again. Raymond hugs his wife and then Nikolai with pride.
As a whole, White Nights captivates with its intellectual storyline. All the actors adjust in their roles with confidence and talent. The script here lends itself to moving and gripping sequences. Danger is all around yet a true story of friendship emerging is clear. Baryshnikov and Hines manage to display their acting and dancing skills simultaneously. Those portions remain unforgettable and unsurpassed in the world of cinema. While the film was not a box office hit when it came out, one award was earned. Lionel Richie composed the song played at the end credits, “Say You, Say Me.” It hit number one on the Billboard Charts and stayed there for weeks. It was also the ninth number one that Richie had in his career.
Fortunately, the turmoil of the Cold War has ceased in activity. In 1989 the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Union collapsed. Russia has emerged as a vibrant culture with significant partnerships around the world. Communism still has an idealistic and emotional tie to the nation but a great degree of democratic reforms have taken place. Because of these factors, White Nights might appear to some viewers as a dated piece. However, older moviemaking has a unique way of staying relevant. War movies are a part of history that stay in our collective unconscious. Political stories, like this one, are developed in the same threshold. People can see that it is a time not to be fully forgotten.
Movie: White Nights
Director: Taylor Hackford
Cast: Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines, Jerzy Skolimowski, Isabella Rossellini, Helen Mirren
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 136 minutes
Brian’s Rating: 5-out-of-5-stars
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