This film is fairly well-known among historians of Russian animation for being one of the first to be made in the Soviet Union. Well, not exactly the first; there was one lost film released in 1923 and nine in total from 1924. But it was the "biggest" early animation project, running about 32 minutes. The film is in three acts of 10 minutes each. It starts with a description of how evil capitalists are hurting China, goes on to show an example of uprisings in the countryside and cities which are mercilessly crushed, and finally shows how communist ideas make an impact among the population, and how China finally recognizes the Soviet Union and begins trading with it. The final scene sums up the message of the film by telling its viewers to sympathize with the plight of the Chinese peasants and "stand by them".
Unlike American animation of that time, Soviet animation of the 1920s up until 1936 took its inspiration from avant-grade revolutionary posters (American animation was inspired by comics). The film's visual style is very dramatic (i.e. capitalists have enormous bellies, fat, jiggling cheeks, and even fangs). Symbolism is everywhere (near the end of the film, capitalism is represented by a huge black spider sitting on China). At the same time, the portrayal of the Chinese countryside in the middle of the film is rather naturalistic and peaceful. The film uses the "cutout animation" style; everything consists of moving pieces of paper. This method allows a far more interesting visual look than cel animation would have, at the expense of some mobility. However, the animators are very creative with how they use it.
Although some sections of the film are quite interesting to watch, it is not nearly as fun as the directors' earlier and shorter 1924 film "Interplanetary Revolution". There is less activity, and less humour (by design, this film was meant to be educational). However, I don't think that I can really judge the true quality of the film; the version of the film that I watched (Films by Jove) had a clean but very dark image, sometimes so dark that I couldn't see anything on the screen. Moreover, the music chosen to accompany this silent film seemed very inappropriate most of the time; the striking images and often-frantic activity on the screen demanded a similarly striking soundtrack. Instead, there was a Chinese string instrument and flute playing very slow and seemingly aimless music that did not correspond at all with the activity on the screen. All in all, it was difficult to get a picture of what the film was like when the reels were brand new and the music more fitting.
Unlike American animation of that time, Soviet animation of the 1920s up until 1936 took its inspiration from avant-grade revolutionary posters (American animation was inspired by comics). The film's visual style is very dramatic (i.e. capitalists have enormous bellies, fat, jiggling cheeks, and even fangs). Symbolism is everywhere (near the end of the film, capitalism is represented by a huge black spider sitting on China). At the same time, the portrayal of the Chinese countryside in the middle of the film is rather naturalistic and peaceful. The film uses the "cutout animation" style; everything consists of moving pieces of paper. This method allows a far more interesting visual look than cel animation would have, at the expense of some mobility. However, the animators are very creative with how they use it.
Although some sections of the film are quite interesting to watch, it is not nearly as fun as the directors' earlier and shorter 1924 film "Interplanetary Revolution". There is less activity, and less humour (by design, this film was meant to be educational). However, I don't think that I can really judge the true quality of the film; the version of the film that I watched (Films by Jove) had a clean but very dark image, sometimes so dark that I couldn't see anything on the screen. Moreover, the music chosen to accompany this silent film seemed very inappropriate most of the time; the striking images and often-frantic activity on the screen demanded a similarly striking soundtrack. Instead, there was a Chinese string instrument and flute playing very slow and seemingly aimless music that did not correspond at all with the activity on the screen. All in all, it was difficult to get a picture of what the film was like when the reels were brand new and the music more fitting.
