Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors was a nice film that made for a really unique viewing experience. It tells the life story of a boy named Ivan as he grows up and enters two defining romantic relationships, the second of which brings about his untimely demise. Shadows caught my attention for its engaging camera work within the first half of the film, where the camera's movement was incredibly intense and really brought the film to life. While in the second half of the film the camera is far more static, early on the camera did a few really distinctive things. First, it was continually unsteady, when it wasn't whipping us rapidly around the scene; I found that this caused an exhilarating disorienting effect. Also, while Ivan was still a child the camera would often film from a child's perspective, at knee level, looking up to adults that were having a discussion, which I found to be interesting. The landscape shots that were captured were extremely beautiful and later in the film, the camera did have some of the "running" motion that was seen in The Cranes Are Flying, though this time it was not from the perspective of any character. In another similarity to Cranes, as well as Ivan's Childhood, there was a major tree motif within the film. Shadows reminded me of a silent film at times with the lack of dialogue and the style of acting that was present, though this is not a knock in anyway, in fact I found it to be quite beautiful. The use of colors to express emotional states is also added to the quality of the film, as did the richness of the color when it was present. Shadows brought an intense nostalgic quality to the screen and is defined by how great of a visual experience it is.
Reviews
4 Reviews
Mother
(1926)
A solid film
5 March 2013
Pudovkin's Mother is a strong film that refused to be bound by the limitations of its time and should remain interesting to contemporary audiences. The plot of the film is simply outstanding. While some would say it was to be expected since the film is based off of a novel by Maxim Gorky, it should be noted that good source material does not guarantee cinematic success. The film follows a mother and her revolutionist son, Pavel, as they navigate a series of difficulties resulting from her son's allegiance.
With no speech, a major challenge for silent films is the creation of multidimensional characters. Pudovkin overcomes this challenge by being able to capture the emotions of the characters. I thought the mother, was exceptionally interesting. Her struggle did not only represent that of a loving mother, but also that of a movement. Pudovkin make great use of the camera, whether it was a side profile emphasizing the pensiveness of the character or a well-timed frontal close-up, he facilitates our ride on this emotional roller-coaster.
For the most part, I really enjoyed the pacing of the film. While the pacing did vary in tempo, it was always well within its own "groove." Even in the extremely exciting conclusion, one did not get to feel the extremely fast-paced tempo of a Battleship Potemkin, which I believe speaks to the differences between the directors. On that note, it was interesting to see how Pudovkin's use of montage differed. His cuts were far more gradual and subtle when compared to Eisenstein's in Battleship which contributed to the stability of the film.
All in all, Mother was a good watch and one of the stronger films that we have seen.
With no speech, a major challenge for silent films is the creation of multidimensional characters. Pudovkin overcomes this challenge by being able to capture the emotions of the characters. I thought the mother, was exceptionally interesting. Her struggle did not only represent that of a loving mother, but also that of a movement. Pudovkin make great use of the camera, whether it was a side profile emphasizing the pensiveness of the character or a well-timed frontal close-up, he facilitates our ride on this emotional roller-coaster.
For the most part, I really enjoyed the pacing of the film. While the pacing did vary in tempo, it was always well within its own "groove." Even in the extremely exciting conclusion, one did not get to feel the extremely fast-paced tempo of a Battleship Potemkin, which I believe speaks to the differences between the directors. On that note, it was interesting to see how Pudovkin's use of montage differed. His cuts were far more gradual and subtle when compared to Eisenstein's in Battleship which contributed to the stability of the film.
All in all, Mother was a good watch and one of the stronger films that we have seen.
Turksib
(1929)
Very Boring
5 March 2013
Sometimes I am left to wonder if being a product of our modern age has ruined my ability to appreciate the classics of years past. In the world of Russian cinema Turin's Turksib is considered to be a classic, but I would be lying if I claimed to find the viewing experience any more exciting than watching paint dry.
The film documents the building of the Turkestan-Siberia railway, which is an important moment in Soviet history. The film plays out as a history lesson of sorts, providing the viewer with historical context on the affected regions to start and progressing from there. I did appreciate the constant text cards, which appeared more often than in some other movies from this era that I had watched. Though it could be attributed to the fact that the film did not rely on the facial expressions of actors to tell its story. The film did a good job of capturing the landscape with some excellent shots, but on that note, the camera hardly moved. The static nature of the camera, in combination with a lack of human expression for me to tap into, made it almost impossible for this film to excite my 2013 senses. It was almost laughable when dramatic music would start playing, as if some kind of action was about to take place, only to show a still landscape or a person walking. I don't think that I would view this film as negatively as I do, if I hadn't watched some other films from this time period that show excitement did not need to be so lacking, especially when comparing Man with a Movie Camera, another documentary, to it.
While we live in a ADD world, sometimes it is OK to say some things are better left in the past.
The film documents the building of the Turkestan-Siberia railway, which is an important moment in Soviet history. The film plays out as a history lesson of sorts, providing the viewer with historical context on the affected regions to start and progressing from there. I did appreciate the constant text cards, which appeared more often than in some other movies from this era that I had watched. Though it could be attributed to the fact that the film did not rely on the facial expressions of actors to tell its story. The film did a good job of capturing the landscape with some excellent shots, but on that note, the camera hardly moved. The static nature of the camera, in combination with a lack of human expression for me to tap into, made it almost impossible for this film to excite my 2013 senses. It was almost laughable when dramatic music would start playing, as if some kind of action was about to take place, only to show a still landscape or a person walking. I don't think that I would view this film as negatively as I do, if I hadn't watched some other films from this time period that show excitement did not need to be so lacking, especially when comparing Man with a Movie Camera, another documentary, to it.
While we live in a ADD world, sometimes it is OK to say some things are better left in the past.
By the Law
(1926)
Mechanical
10 February 2013
By the Law is a 1926 film based off of the Jack London story The Unexpected. As a big fan of Jack London's Call of the Wild and White Fang I was interested in seeing how London's wilderness and survival focused work would be portrayed in a film from this time period. We are presented with 5 characters originally, and with their combined presence it is nearly impossible to foster any kind of emotional connection with any of them. However, things are made slightly better when we are left to focus on Michael, Edith and Nelson though they still lack any real depth. Kuleshov made use of a great deal of close up shots, stressing the emotion shown in the faces of his actors.
Simply put, By the Law is far from the most exciting film I have watched. Jack London's work was so dependent on vivid descriptions of the wilderness and the mental state of his main character; Kuleshov was unable to recreate that experience with technological limitations playing a major role. Technology aside, there was way too many moments where the viewer was left to watch the actors sit idly and I did not feel like these served as tension building moments that could have helped the film.
By the Law managed to do a few things well. The lone action scene was surprisingly good and managed to quicken the pace of the film. The ending of the film was also pretty good, playing right into the title of the Jack London's original work. All in all, By the Law would be considered a rather boring film by our modern standards with its mechanical nature being its downfall..
Simply put, By the Law is far from the most exciting film I have watched. Jack London's work was so dependent on vivid descriptions of the wilderness and the mental state of his main character; Kuleshov was unable to recreate that experience with technological limitations playing a major role. Technology aside, there was way too many moments where the viewer was left to watch the actors sit idly and I did not feel like these served as tension building moments that could have helped the film.
By the Law managed to do a few things well. The lone action scene was surprisingly good and managed to quicken the pace of the film. The ending of the film was also pretty good, playing right into the title of the Jack London's original work. All in all, By the Law would be considered a rather boring film by our modern standards with its mechanical nature being its downfall..
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