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Babylon XX (1979) movie poster

Characters & Themes

Babylon XX (1979) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

Release, runtime and language
1979 · 95 mins · Ukrainian
Starring
Dmitriy Mirgorodskiy, Lyubov Polishchuk, Konstiantin Artyomenko, Rayisa Nedashkivska, Taisiya Lytvynenko, Mykola Shutko

A new reality upends life in the village of Babylon, prompting attempts to communist the town that are fiercely opposed by its wealthy residents. The Red Army eventually crushes the dissent and the resistance. In the midst of the turmoil, philosopher Fabian returns to Babylon, striving to avert bloodshed, only to meet a tragic end.

On this page (7)
  1. 1 Characters explained (8)
  2. 2 Where & when it takes place
  3. 3 Themes & meaning (3)
  4. 4 Character & meaning questions
  5. 5 Movie threads
  6. 6 Movies like Babylon XX
  7. 7 Every angle

8 main characters · contains spoilers

Babylon XX Characters Explained: Who Is Who

The main characters of Babylon XX (1979), heroes and villains: what drives them, how they change over the course of the story and what each of them reveals about the film's bigger ideas.

  • Klym Synytsia (Ivan Havryliuk)

    A Red Navy sailor who returns to Babylon to push for a new communist order. He openly attacks old symbols, distrusts some locals, and acts as a trigger for the village’s political upheaval. His drive to reshape society clashes with wary villagers and the island of tradition that still anchors Babylon.

    • 🪖 Idealist
    • 🧭 Reformer
    • 🧨 Provocateur
  • Malva (Lyubov Polishchuk)

    A central female figure torn between the old world and the promise of the commune. She loves Fabian but seeks membership in the new order, and she becomes pregnant by Volodya Yavorskyi. Her fate intersects with both political and romantic violence as events unfold.

    • 💞 Romantic
    • 🧭 Ambitious
    • 🩸 Tragic
  • Danko (Les Serdyuk)

    A scheming brother figure who pursues his own marriage plans while drifting toward the kulak faction. His jealousy and shifting loyalties propel part of the village into violence, and he becomes a tool in the broader power struggle.

    • 💔 Jealous
    • 🔪 Aggressive
    • 🗡️ Opportunist
  • Lukian (Yaroslav Havryliuk)

    Danko’s brother who harbors his own ambitions and eventually aligns with the communists. He embodies the division in the village between old ties and the pull of revolutionary change.

    • 🤝 Loyalist
    • 🧭 Conflicted
    • 🕊️ Hopeful
  • Fabian (Mykolaichuk)

    played by Ivan Mykolaichuk

    The village’s gravedigger and self-styled philosopher, he becomes Malva’s confidant and is drawn into the romance that intensifies the political conflict. He is killed by Bubela’s militia amid the violence of the uprising.

    • 🧠 Intellectual
    • 💔 Tragic
    • 🕯️ Observer
  • Bubela (Kostiantyn Stepankov)

    Wealthy local with a kulak militia who aims to crush the commune and protect his fortune. He incites violence, seizes weapons, and directly killers Malva and indirectly seals Fabian’s fate during the riot.

    • 💼 Elite
    • 🗡️ Aggressor
    • ⚔️ Oppressor
  • Darynka (Lyudmila Chinshevaya)

    An orphan cared for by Danko and Lukian’s mother. She becomes a witness to the turmoil and notices Bubela’s weapon stash, providing crucial information that heightens the plot’s tension.

    • 🌸 Innocent
    • 👁️ Observer
    • 🧭 Witness
  • Volodya Yavorskyi (Anatoli Khostikoyev)

    A poet who escorts Malva and becomes her lover. His relationship with Malva is cut short by Bubela’s violence, illustrating how art and affection are drawn into the political maelstrom.

    • 🎭 Poet
    • 💘 Tragic love
    • 🕯️ Martyr

Last updated: October 04, 2025 at 19:19

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Setting

Where and When Does Babylon XX Take Place?

The setting of Babylon XX (1979): the year and time period, the places and locations, and how they shape the characters, the mood and the tension of the story.

Time period

early 1920s

Post-revolutionary Ukraine under Soviet rule, the countryside braces for confiscations, class warfare, and political experimentation. Kulaks resist the new regime, wealth and land become instruments of power, and family loyalties are tested by shifting alliances. The era’s violence seeps into everyday life as communes form and collapse amid suspicion and fear.

Location

Babylon, Podolia, Ukrainian SSR

In the early 1920s, the village of Babylon in Podolia lies under the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, with life largely echoing the old imperial order. The coming of a Red Navy sailor launches a charged experiment in building a commune and reordering local authority. The landscape — a former manor, treasure under a pear tree, and old statues — becomes the battleground for ideological and personal clashes.

  • 🏚️ Rural village
  • 🧭 Soviet-era upheaval
  • 🛡️ Commune experiments

Last updated: October 04, 2025 at 19:19

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3 major themes

Babylon XX Meaning: Themes & Message Explained

What is Babylon XX (1979) really about? The emotional, social and philosophical themes the film keeps returning to, its symbolism and the message beneath the surface.

  • Class Struggle

    The story pits the push for a Soviet commune against entrenched wealth and traditional authority represented by Bubela and his militia. Old hierarchies persist as wealth, weapons, and land become tools of power. The buried treasure under the pear tree embodies how material advantage fuels conflict and political manipulation.

  • Love and Betrayal

    Romance threads through the village as Malva seeks belonging in the commune while entangled with Yavorskyi and Fabian. Jealousy and desire intersect with political aims, turning intimate choices into risks amid upheaval. Betrayals intensify the danger, culminating in tragic losses.

  • Violence

    Epiphany night erupts into a village-wide clash as Bubela incites peasants and kulaks clash with communists. The struggle spills into homes and graves, and the line between killer and victim blurs. Fabian dies, Malva is murdered, and the fight reshapes loyalties as the commune collapses and the village descends into chaos.

Last updated: October 04, 2025 at 19:19

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Character & theme questions

Babylon XX Characters & Meaning: Your Questions Answered

The questions people ask about Babylon XX (1979): who the characters really are, their relationships, what the symbols mean, where it takes place and what the movie is really about. Each answer contains spoilers.

Q1

Where is the village of Babylon located in the movie?

The story takes place in the village of Babylon, which is situated in Podolia, a historic region that was part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in the early 1920s. The setting is a rural village that still echoes the old imperial order before the Soviet upheaval.

  • podolia
  • babylon village
  • ukrainian ssr
  • setting
  • rural ukraine
Q2

What time period does Babylon XX depict?

The film is set in the early 1920s, during the period immediately following the Russian Revolution. This was a time when Soviet rule was being established in Ukraine, with communities facing confiscations, class warfare, and political experimentation as the new regime took hold.

  • 1920s
  • soviet era
  • ukraine
  • revolutionary period
  • historical setting
Q3

What is the Class Struggle theme in Babylon XX about?

The movie portrays the conflict between the push for a Soviet commune and the entrenched wealth and traditional authority represented by characters like Bubela. The buried treasure under a pear tree symbolizes how material advantage fuels both political manipulation and personal conflict, as wealth, weapons, and land become tools of power.

  • class struggle
  • commune
  • wealth
  • kulaks
  • soviet ideology
  • inequality
Q4

Who is Fabian and what role does he play?

Fabian is the village's gravedigger who considers himself a philosopher. He serves as Malva's confidant and becomes entangled in the romance that intensifies the political conflict. His character represents the intellectual attempting to mediate between opposing forces, though his efforts prove futile in preventing tragedy.

  • fabian
  • philosopher
  • gravedigger
  • mediator
  • intellectual
Q5

Who is Klym Synytsia and what is his background?

Klym Synytsia is a Red Navy sailor who returns to Babylon with the goal of establishing a new communist order in the village. He openly attacks old symbols and acts as the catalyst for the village's political upheaval, pushing for a commune and challenging the traditional authority that still anchors the community.

  • klym synytsia
  • red navy
  • sailor
  • communist
  • revolutionary
  • change agent
Q6

Who is Bubela and what does he represent in the story?

Bubela is a wealthy local farmer who leads a kulak militia opposing the commune. He represents the entrenched wealth and traditional power structures that resist the new Soviet order. His character incites violence, accumulates weapons, and protects his fortune against the revolutionary changes sweeping through Babylon.

  • bubela
  • kulak
  • wealthy
  • militia
  • opposition
  • traditional authority
Q7

Who is Malva and what is her significance?

Malva is a central female character torn between the old world and the promise of the new communal order. She loves Fabian but becomes pregnant by Volodya Yavorskyi, embodying how personal relationships intersect with political allegiances. Her fate becomes entangled in both romantic and political violence.

  • malva
  • love
  • pregnancy
  • romance
  • political conflict
  • woman
Q8

How does Love and Betrayal factor into Babylon XX?

Romance threads through the village as Malva seeks belonging in the commune while entangled with multiple characters including Fabian and Yavorskyi. Jealousy and desire intersect with political aims, turning intimate choices into dangerous risks amid the upheaval. Betrayals intensify the danger and contribute to the tragic losses that unfold.

  • love
  • betrayal
  • jealousy
  • romance
  • relationships
  • affair
Q9

What role does Violence play in the film?

Violence is a central theme as the film depicts a village-wide clash during epiphany night. The struggle between communists and kulaks spills into homes and graves, blurring the line between killer and victim. The violence leads to tragic deaths including Fabian and Malva, ultimately causing the commune to collapse and the village to descend into chaos.

  • violence
  • conflict
  • uprising
  • battle
  • tragic death
  • chaos
Q10

Who are Danko and Lukian and what roles do they play?

Danko and Lukian are brothers whose characters represent the division within the village. Danko schemes for his own marriage plans and drifts toward the kulak faction, while Lukian eventually aligns with the communists. Their shifting loyalties and personal ambitions propel portions of the village into violence during the upheaval.

  • danko
  • lukian
  • brothers
  • family
  • loyalty
  • betrayal
  • faction
Q11

How does the story depict the Soviet response to resistance?

The film shows the Red Army eventually crushing the dissent and resistance in Babylon. This represents the overwhelming force of the Soviet regime against local opposition, illustrating how revolutionary change was imposed through military power rather than consensus.

  • red army
  • soviet force
  • dissent
  • suppression
  • oppression
  • military

Movie threads

More Movies Like Babylon XX, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Babylon XX tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Movies about civil war tragedies in a community like Babylon XX

Stories where a community is violently torn apart by competing ideologies. If you were captivated by how Babylon XX portrays a village ripped apart by political ideals, you'll find similar powerful stories here. These movies explore the devastating personal impact of civil war and ideological conflict on a small, intimate scale, focusing on community upheaval and tragic personal loyalties.

  • somber
  • tense
  • oppressive
  • tragic
  • ideological
  • melancholic
  • Tone: dark, tragic, somber
  • Pacing: steady, methodical build
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative typically follows a community in a state of escalating tension, moving from initial ideological shock to open conflict. It often features characters representing different sides or attempting to act as mediators, whose personal relationships are tested and often destroyed by the overwhelming political forces. The story arc is usually tragic, emphasizing the futility of individual reason in the face of collective fanaticism.

Why they belong together: These films are grouped together because they share a core focus on the microcosm of a community as a lens for exploring macro-political conflicts. They create a potent, somber mood through steady pacing, high emotional intensity, and a dark tone that results from the inevitable collapse of personal bonds and the death of ideals.

Movies with a tragic peacemaker character like in Babylon XX

Character-driven stories about idealists who fail to prevent inevitable violence. Fans of the philosopher Fabian's doomed quest for peace in Babylon XX will appreciate these films. They feature similar arcs where a rational idealist attempts to mediate a violent conflict, only to be crushed by the forces they sought to calm. These are heavy, character-driven dramas about the cost of principles.

  • tragic
  • melancholic
  • somber
  • ideological
  • grim
  • hopeless
  • Tone: melancholic, bleak, tragic
  • Pacing: steady, character-driven
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative is built around the arc of the peacemaker, whose arrival often marks a turning point. The plot follows their increasingly desperate attempts to negotiate, reason, and avert disaster, while the audience senses the inevitability of their failure. Their tragic end serves as the story's emotional climax, symbolizing the death of hope and reason in the face of brute force.

Why they belong together: These movies are connected by a specific and powerful character archetype: the doomed mediator. They share a dark, melancholic tone and a heavy emotional weight, derived from the audience's alignment with a character who is perceptively but powerlessly correct. The pacing is often steady, allowing the dread of their inevitable fate to build effectively.

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Every angle

Babylon XX (1979) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Babylon XX in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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