Celluloid : the film to-day (1931)

150 CELLULOID both intellectual and physiological significance into one magnificent whole for the expression of the futility of religious belief in the face of nature, Dovjenko in Earth conflicts a simple moving mass of people with the isolated figure of Thomas running against the horizon. Eisenstein gathered every thread of his argument and so cleverly interplaited them that, with the aid of brilliant rhythmic cutting, the emotional effect of the scene was tremendous. But in my opinion, Dovjenko loses the threads of his theme, as well as his photographic excellence, and were it not for the sudden compelling madness of the Kulak's son and his remarkable dance, this sequence of Vassily's funeral would be a blemish on the film. Despite the simplicity of the story, I found that the continuity and consequential development of the incidents — especially in the earlier portions — is a little difficult to follow. Whether this is because the film is primarily intended for Russian audiences, or whether it is due to my lack of knowledge of Ukrainian legend, I am not sure, but there are certain points of narrative interest which were not clear until I had seen the picture for a second time. I would add, also, that the priest's visit to Vassily's home seemed poor in dramatic quality and might well have been eliminated except, of course, that it served as anti-religious propaganda. Some comment should be made on Dovjenko's selection of acting material, for like other of the Soviet naturalistic directors, he disapproves of the use of professional actors and actresses. He is consistent in his employment of actors chosen for their type from the ordinary people, and I am given to understand that he