Sinful Apostles of Love

This is a unique film because it is the only film in the long history of Soviet and Russian cinema that depicts the tragic destiny of the Roma during the Second World War. A Romani caravan hiding in the forest is ambushed by German soldiers at the beginning of the war. Some manage to escape, but many lose their lives. Those who survive the massacre are apprehended and imprisoned in a camp. While in the camp, ordinary Roma put an increasing pressure on their chief (Dufunya Vishnevsky): they plot to attack the guards and break free. However, the chief confesses the philosophy of non-violence (one of the milestones of everyday Gypsy life). He does not want to risk any Roma lives and, hoping for a miracle and opposing murder and violence, declares that the Roma may never be involved in murdering others, even their captors. Using a mixed Romani-Russian cast, Dufunya Vishnevsky has persuasively revealed the Roma experiences during the Holocaust even though the story he uses is a fictional one.