A classic

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it is considered as a major classic (among other things, it is included in the ‘ 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die’ list), I was quite eager to check it out. Well, to be honest, I really had a hard time to connect with the damned thing after all. The fact that I saw a very poor copy on YouTube probably didn’t help but the issue went beyond that I’m afraid. I have to admit that I’m not really familiar with the old Soviet propaganda movies (it was only the 2nd movie I have seen in this genre). Anyway, I was rather amazed by how this movie was filmed and edited. Indeed, like I said before, it is usually considered as a masterpiece but probably 90% of the shots were some close-ups which is such a weird way and, to be honest, rather uncomfortable way to shoot a movie. I thought it was even more bewildering since it was a silent movie. Indeed, most silent movies do actually the opposite, they focus more on wide shots showing the characters being more active to compensate the lack of dialogues. However, in this movie, you get instead a succession of faces constantly moving their lips but in complete silence. Considering the story itself, well, there was actually no real story and no characters involved, it was either a beautiful allegorical poem about the glory of the rise of the poor farmers against the landlords or some blatant Soviet propaganda, depending on where you stand regarding this matter. Anyway, to conclude, it had been a while since I have struggled so much with an old classic so maybe I should give it another try at some point in the future but I still think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in this genre. 

7/10