Earth (1930) dir. Alexander Dovzhenko, Baby Face (1933) dir. Alfred E. Green, Duck Soup (1933) dir. Leo McCarey

This week I watched a lot of movies. Thing is, none of them were new and few them I enjoyed. I don't have a lot to say about them, so I have decided to do three little mini reviews on some of the movies I saw this week. Funny thing is, none of them were made after 1935. 

I think I'll start off with the film I liked the most. 

Earth

 

Earth is one of the big classics from the Soviet propaganda/formalist film era. When this film is mentioned, it's usually along with the film Battleship Potemkin (1925) directed by the hugely famous and significant filmmaker/theorist Sergei Eisenstein. Dovzhenko, Eisenstein, and Vsevelod Pudovkin are the three pioneers of soviet montage, the movement that pretty much elevated editing beyond just putting the movie together to the intricate and invisible art form that it is today. Although I'd say Alexander Dovzhenko is the underdog in this trio. His films, Earth in particular, aren't as heavy handed with the propaganda, although the agenda is still present in this one.

Alexander Dovzhenko

Dovzhenko, along with his contemporaries, were often accused of formalism (placing the style of the film over the communist content) by the Soviet Government, but his movie was one of the few to actually be considered treason. From what I can gather from watching the film, the guys upstairs didn't take too kindly to the fact that the movie was about the Ukrainian Farmers, the people they were conquering at the time, and the fact that the "rich famers" who represented the bourgeoisie were slightly sympathetic. It makes sense, because Dovzhenko was Ukrainian born. Another big difference between this film and the other formalists works, is that it goes much farther than simply prioritizing the craft of the film. He goes as far as neglecting the communist agenda for large parts of the film to explore themes of life and death, emotion, and resilience.


 The  movie is about the confrontation with independent, landowning famers (kulaks) and the communist minded groups who get a new tractor and wish to take over the farm. A young man, Basil, leads this group of revolutionaries but is killed by an unknown kulak. His father, at first unsure of which side to take, joins his son's friends and marches on the land. 

The climactic march scene

 I will admit that this was a difficult movie. It was slow paced and could even be quite cerebral. There are a few striking and dramatic shots, but overall the movie is really compelling because of the editing, which not only elevates the content tonally but creates symbolic relationships. It's very interesting, and the most poetic story I've seen from the Russian formalists (and I've seen all of three, mind you!)

Now onto a movie I had mixed feelings about...

Baby Face

Baby Face is either really misogynistic or really feminist. I can't tell which. It's about a rough around the edges girl named Lily who realizes she can use her womanly power over men to her greatest advantage. And she does, several times, in offices, bathrooms, sketchy apartments, railroad cars, etc. 

It was directed by Alfred E. Green, a very prolific but not very notable director. This is probably his most recognizable work because of how controversial it was at the time for all of its sexual content, albeit implied. 

The movie was perfectly entertaining and enjoyable to watch. Barbara Stanwyck was not only drop dead gorgeous, but an amazing actress with the power to draw us into any character. 

Hummina hummina hummina

Where the movie starts to lose me is the overall point. Are we supposed to sympathize with Lily? She was a pretty terrible person until literally the last five minutes of the movie. If she's just a terrible person, then isn't that saying something bad about women and their sexuality? Or was it a positive image of the power a woman can have over a man, while still being a good person by learning the error or her ways? 

Here's what would have saved it.

Lily goes through her whole journey alongside her friend and maid, Chico, played by Theresa Harris. 

Like I said, this movie was really controversial and racy for its time. But even so, there is a limit. It's disappointing, because I swear to god, the whole movie, I wanted them to end up together.

A woman using her sexuality to succeed, to empower herself and control men, instead of ending up with the handsome everyman (which happens at the end of the movie), ends up with her maid in a homosexual, interracial relationship. How cool would that have been? 

And here is where I drop the bomb...

Duck Soup

Duck Soup is arguably the most famous and beloved of the Marx Brothers films. Concerning the unstable and fictional country of Freedonia and it's fast talking, smartass president (Groucho), this film is held as a staple of classic, slapstick comedy that has inspired comedians ever since. 


And I hated it.

Yeah. Pretty much despised the entire thing. And I feel bad for hating it, believe me. 

I watched it in my film class and my professor said we were in for a treat. I was looking forward to it because of its status as a masterpiece. About 15 minutes in I wanted it to be over. The movie came off to me as an incoherent mess and I began to slump further and further into my seat in misery with each passing moment. 

Unlike with previous comedy classics I have watched, such as City Lights (1931) or The General (1926), directed by Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, repectively, I didn't laugh, scoff, chuckle, or even grin approvingly the entire movie. 

I did, however, like the famous mirror sequence, and the musical number towards the end, but I'm a sucker for showtunes. 

Boy oh boy. I need to go to the theater. 

Movies I Also Saw This Week
Welcome to the Dollhouse (1996)*, The Stepford Wives (1975) The Jazz Singer (1927), Dracula (1931)**

*After mentioning it in my previous review, I just had to watch it again. Still just as good as before. I highly recommend it. It not only perfectly and convincingly writes the most pitiful and sad character ever, but takes the common coming-of-age setting of high school and moves it to a place even more sick and hellish- middle school.

**The only actual Halloween movie I watched in October. I've lost all my childlike wonder.