1964 Mikhail Kalatozov
This is pretty wild stuff formally. Where to begin? Probably with the massively, beyond what I have seen before (well, Welles), 'distortion' of the image with the wide-angle lens. This is enhanced by having stuff chucked at us, careering into things, having a lot in the foreground. Oddly enough, depth isn't really the issue here; often there are only two planes, very distant and very far away, with not enough overlap, stuff in between, or lighting changes. So it can look quite flat, adding to the otherwordly appeal.
This wide-angle stuff is shot with extremely low angles, very high ones, nearly always canted, very much noticeably. What really stands out (what really really really stands out) is the mobility of the camera. Huge long takes, seemingly influenced heavily by Murnau (there is a real silent feel to this film) take us down buildings, throuhg swimming pools, flying through the air, somehow. The constant movements, sometimes very fast, means heads chopped off, bits of bodies and faces flying into the screen and dissappearing... it is all quite much.
Also note the sound; not really diagetic, clearly dubbed, with subjective breaks, and the level of the musuc gives it a dominating tone.
Narrative wise, here we have four parables connected more by theme than anything. The viewer only has very loose expectations, but even these are genuinely surprised. The formal elements foreground the air of the time, the passion, the way we are being shown around, perhaps as outsiders (the parable structure confirms this; are these more 'types' than actual people? The piece starts off nearly like a documentary). The scenes often start close and, in the general in and out, constant moving, establish a wider area, with more of a look at daily life than standard 'actions'. Most of the causation is good old economics.
A pretty remarable techinical achievement, with a rousing revolutionary message.
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