My impression of Dziga Vertov

I have never been an admirer or a connoisseur of early film, I admittedly have never attempted to watch an film that predated the birth of my parents, mainly due to a premeditated apprehension regarding early films. In fact it was this lack of experience that inspired my enrolment within this very subject, in an attempt to avoid complacency and expand my comfort zone. Consequently I found my viewing of Dziga Vertov’s experimental avon-garde film ‘The Man With The Movie Camera’, both captivating and perplexing.

Dzia Vertov’s 1936 experimental film “Man with a Movie Camera” presents us with a defining expression of a non-linear documentary style, challenging the preconceptions of conceptual film and setting a precedent for the future of the documentary, surrealist and expressionist films. Hailed today as an innovative pioneer for alterative film, Vertov’s extreme opposition to linear film is clearly reflected in this distinctive and rather bizarre film. It is this distinctive and peculiar nature that made the deconstruction of this film quite a feat, however this is my attempt.

The film opens with a rather bizarre and surrealist image, as Vertov superimposes the image of a cameraman atop a mammoth movie camera, establishing the films surrealist nature, while foreshadowing the films progressive detachment from linear reality and the extensive use of filmic techniques including still imagery, slow motion and ‘Dutch/Batman angles’ (as seen above). Vertov’s film appears to consist of seemingly random footage, depicting the lives and interactions of various Russian citizens, portraying a variable spectrum of experiences, from the most mundane of actions such as walking, to the most momentous and defining of experiences such as Child Birth, denoting a clear attempt at universal inclusion. 

It may be noted that the most defining and innovative aspect of Vertov’s film is its structure, edited by Vertov’s wife Elizaveta Svilova, “The Man with A movie Camera” appears to at first constitute a tangled mesh of both mundane and surreal images. However one may understand the films structure by considering musical form, more specifically Rondo form. By applying the notion of musical structure to Vertov’s ‘non-linear’ piece, one may derive a semblance of structure amid an otherwise chaotic sequence of images. Rondo form refers a musical structure in which a common theme is propagated amid a series of differing content e.g. ABACADAE and can be effectively applied to Vertov’s avon-garde work. Throughout the film the image of cameraman is consistently shown, scattered amid a series of intentional non-linear images and sub-plots. Through this re-occurring subject matter Vertov attempts to communicate one of his primary thematic concerns, pertaining to the notion of surveillance. Vertov prophesises the inevitable use of camera’s as a means of personal invasion and observation. While simultaneously engaging with alternative themes, such as societies interactions and dependence on technology, as Vertov displays a series of scattered images involving citizen’s consistent and frequent contact with machinery, notably the persistent use of Train imagery. Consequently, despite the initially frenzied impression one might experience, it appears that Elizaveta Svilova’s editing sequence is more calculated then an initial glance would suggest.

Thank you for reading my first attempt at blogging and hope you found it somewhat insightful.