“Man with a movie camera” is one of the most famous documentaries by remarkably talented film director Dziga Vetrov. Filmed in 1929 in USSR it is one of ten world famous best documentaries of all times. Vetrov (1929) himself refers to it as “an experiment in the cinematic communication of visible events. This experimental work aims at creating a truly international absolute language of cinema based on its total separation from the language of theatre and literature”.
Vetrov’s concept of documentary film lies in that the screen must not copy usual perception, as there is “cine-eye” that is more perfect than human eye. It is possible to capture processes hidden from human eye, using different technical abilities of a camera. Following organisation of material allows exploring reality much deeper. Vetrov believes that camera is objective and therefore a film can take a spectator anywhere, there is no limit: wedding, funeral, woman giving birth.
Man with a movie camera travels around a city and films, as it first seems, random episodes and facts from life of the big city like a real life endless panorama. Gradually from the chaos of “life caught unawares” arises cinematographically significant image of contemporaneity. It is a visual code that is open for interpretation. However, it is documentary and there is no story line or actors, rational human mind is searching for symbolism in the relationships between typography of street signs and the picture. The film captivates and absorbs the spectator, as there is no continuous story, each visual form is unique and it is impossible to miss single image or even a frame.
This film became the main achievement of the Soviet documentary in the period before The Second World War owing to unusual angles, extreme close-ups, double exposure and fantastically masterly montage based on rhythmically musical principles. Vetrov always searched for unity of the subject, technology and rhythm. He achieved all that in his “Man with a movie camera” to the extent that it still amazes our imagination.
Vetrov’s concept of documentary film lies in that the screen must not copy usual perception, as there is “cine-eye” that is more perfect than human eye. It is possible to capture processes hidden from human eye, using different technical abilities of a camera. Following organisation of material allows exploring reality much deeper. Vetrov believes that camera is objective and therefore a film can take a spectator anywhere, there is no limit: wedding, funeral, woman giving birth.
Man with a movie camera travels around a city and films, as it first seems, random episodes and facts from life of the big city like a real life endless panorama. Gradually from the chaos of “life caught unawares” arises cinematographically significant image of contemporaneity. It is a visual code that is open for interpretation. However, it is documentary and there is no story line or actors, rational human mind is searching for symbolism in the relationships between typography of street signs and the picture. The film captivates and absorbs the spectator, as there is no continuous story, each visual form is unique and it is impossible to miss single image or even a frame.
This film became the main achievement of the Soviet documentary in the period before The Second World War owing to unusual angles, extreme close-ups, double exposure and fantastically masterly montage based on rhythmically musical principles. Vetrov always searched for unity of the subject, technology and rhythm. He achieved all that in his “Man with a movie camera” to the extent that it still amazes our imagination.
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