Kinoglaz (1924)

Kinoglaz: Directed by Dziga Vertov. This documentary promoting the joys of life in a Soviet village centers around the activities of the Young Pioneers. These children are constantly busy, pasting propaganda posters on walls, distributing hand bills, exhorting all to “buy from the cooperative” as opposed to the Private Sector, promoting temperance, and helping poor widows. Experimental portions of the film, projected in reverse, feature the un-slaughtering of a bull and the un-baking of bread.

“This is an interesting and creative earlier effort by Dziga Vertov, and u0026quot;Kino-Eyeu0026quot; often shows the same kind of imagination and experimentation that reached near-perfection in his later feature u0026quot;Man With a Movie Camerau0026quot;. The distinctive style is quite recognizable, and the experimental sequences – many of them using camera tricks – are quite resourceful.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAlthough there isnu0026#39;t a story in the conventional sense, two common themes hold it together and give it substance beyond the individual sequences. In terms of content, the activities of the Young Pioneers form the connection between the numerous short sequences. The various experiments and special camera effects themselves form the other main thread, because they are much more than mere visual tricks. In every case, they represent Vertovu0026#39;s effort to take the obvious, literal images that are inherent in the material, and to project them to an extreme that is either perfectly logical or perfectly impossible, depending on oneu0026#39;s point of view.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn most of Vertovu0026#39;s features, he is openly interested in promoting what he considered to be the virtues of the Soviet state. Yet the interesting thing about his best features, of which this is one, is that they also have a timeless quality, because – whether he realized it consciously or not – his way of looking at things sometimes goes well beneath the surface, and when it does, it can bring out themes that underlie humanity in general, without respect to political systems.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Kino-Eyeu0026quot; is certainly not as polished as u0026quot;Man With a Movie Camerau0026quot; – in particular, it could have benefited from tighter editing and selection of material – but it is definitely worthwhile in itself. Not only can you see Vertovu0026#39;s technique in a stage of advanced development, but the movie also has some material and sequences that are quite interesting in themselves.”