Turksib is a gripping documentary illustrating the societal struggles resolved with the construction of the 1445-kilometer Turkestan-Siberia ("Turk-Sib") railway line through Kazakhstan in 1930. For a silent film, Turksib features exemplary organization to guide the reader. First, the viewer is exposed to the problems affecting the people of Turkestan without a railway connection. Next, the film displays the unfaltering determination of man and machine as they battle nature to construct the Turk-Sib line. Finally, upon the line's completion, one is given a happy conclusion showing montages of successful harvest and manufacture of cotton and wool products from Turkestan, aided by the railroad.
The repetitive use of inter-titles, often just single words displayed on multiple occasions, added a lot emotional power to the three aforementioned parts of the film. For example, the words "water," "grain," and "waiting" were frequently repeated in between images of the people of Turkestan miserably awaiting water or not being able to transport their cotton to the market, making the viewer sympathize and understand the need for a Turk-Sib line. Furthermore, during the construction of the line, repeating words like "forward," "man," "machine," and "civilization" emphasized the stubbornness of man in conquering nature, shown with montages of workers digging up the land and detonating mountains to lay track. Finally, the words "north-to- south," "south-to-north," and "cotton" were continuously redisplayed towards the end, underscoring the successful railway connection, shown with montages of successful harvests in Turkestan and of cotton mills springing to life again.
Throughout the film, the viewer remained engaged through the repetitive inter-titles and logical organization, feeling the struggles experienced by the people of Turkestan, sharing in the intrepid attitude of the workers ripping apart the land to build the railroad, and celebrating alongside the people when the pulse of the mills picked up again after the Turk-Sib was completed. All in all, Turksib is a great account of a huge accomplishment, Soviet Russia's version of the Darlington to Stockton-on-Tees line in Britain, or the trans-continental railroad in the United States.
The repetitive use of inter-titles, often just single words displayed on multiple occasions, added a lot emotional power to the three aforementioned parts of the film. For example, the words "water," "grain," and "waiting" were frequently repeated in between images of the people of Turkestan miserably awaiting water or not being able to transport their cotton to the market, making the viewer sympathize and understand the need for a Turk-Sib line. Furthermore, during the construction of the line, repeating words like "forward," "man," "machine," and "civilization" emphasized the stubbornness of man in conquering nature, shown with montages of workers digging up the land and detonating mountains to lay track. Finally, the words "north-to- south," "south-to-north," and "cotton" were continuously redisplayed towards the end, underscoring the successful railway connection, shown with montages of successful harvests in Turkestan and of cotton mills springing to life again.
Throughout the film, the viewer remained engaged through the repetitive inter-titles and logical organization, feeling the struggles experienced by the people of Turkestan, sharing in the intrepid attitude of the workers ripping apart the land to build the railroad, and celebrating alongside the people when the pulse of the mills picked up again after the Turk-Sib was completed. All in all, Turksib is a great account of a huge accomplishment, Soviet Russia's version of the Darlington to Stockton-on-Tees line in Britain, or the trans-continental railroad in the United States.