The Seventh Bullet
The Seventh Bullet (Sedmaya Pulya/Седьмая Пуля) is a
Soviet Ostern film of
1972 directed by
Ali Khamraev.
In the same tradition as
The White Sun of the Desert and
The Bodyguard,
The Seventh Bullet is set after the
Russian Civil War which ended in the
1920s when
Soviet power established itself in Central
Asia in the wake of the
Basmachi rebellion. Despite this slight shift in emphasis and a post-war setting,
The Seventh Bullet is closer to a typical war film than other
Red Westerns because of a prominence of tactical resourcefulness in the development of the plot. Although of course this is a staple of many
American Westerns from
John Ford's
cavalry series to the many
Apache war films.
Despite the restoration of Soviet power in the area, Basmachis continue to arrive from across the border, bringing death and destruction to peaceful villages. One of the bands of rebels is led by Khairulla who is pitted against the
militsiya (local militia) leader Maxumov. At first it seems hopeless for Maxumov as the rebels capture most of his men, winning them over to his side. He has only one strategy left; to give himself up, and try to explain to the people that Khairulla has deceived them, turning the soldiers back to revolution. Later in pursuit of his enemy, he chases Khairulla across a river. He has only one bullet left -- the seventh, and he must not miss his target!
