Dawn is approaching in the city. Its denizens begin to stir, its streets come to life, its machinery starts turning. We see people at work and at play. Committing to one another through matrimony and breaking the bond in divorce. Being born and dying.
It could be any day in any city, but a lone cameraman is there, moving through the crowds and buildings, climbing and flying to document every tick and movement of the metropolis.
I am sure director Dziga Vertov had never heard the term "meta" in 1929, but he certainly understands the concept. At its core, Man with a Movie Camera is a film about an audience watching a film about the camera man creating the film that they are watching. Mindbending stuff.
To make the film more enigmatic, it is clear we are never actually seeing the footage shot by the cameraman being followed on screen. As he is pulled across a waterfall on a platform, he looks to be getting some great footage. But it never appears on the screen. We are only following him.
The set up and premise are challenging (in the best possible way), but the beyond its scenario, the film has to be good to be meaningful. Despite its meta trappings, Man with a Movie Camera is essentially a documentary about life in a city, cinematic ground previously covered by Berlin: Symphony of a Great City.
Except Man with a Movie Camera aspires to so much more. Every frame, every shot is meticulously considered and it's juxtaposition always has a point.
Some of it is obvious. We cut between a wedding and a divorce proceeding. A live birth and a funeral procession.
But others are more whimsical. Opening and closing window blinds intercut with a blinking eye. A seamstress working thread with a film editor cutting film.
The images make you think. About mortality. About the body as a machine. About the possibilities of film. And if a scene doesn't speak to you, another moment is coming hard upon its heels.
For its time, Man with a Movie Camera is revolutionary for its fast editing and cerebral approach. I can't say it was entertaining, but days later I'm still turning individual scenes over in my head.
****1/2 out of *****
Photo from Silent Volume
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