Review by Justin Bateman
Stars Stepan Shkurat, Semyon Svashenko, Yulia Solntseva | Written by Alexander Dovzhenko
UK certification 18 | UK RRP £17.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 78 minutes | Directed by Alexander Dovzhenko
This silent, black and white film from 1930 is regularly cited as one of the most important films of the old Soviet era and is part of his trilogy of Ukraine films, Zvenigora and Arsenal being the other two. In Earth, a farming village collaborates to buy a tractor to stave off the hostile takeover by Kulak landowners. The focus on the land, literally the soil, is obviously relevant to the livelihood of the protagonists but also represents the cycles of life, death, sex and violence of the earth as a whole.
From a modern perspective, or at least mine, Earth is a little dry and lacks as strong a narrative as one has come to expect. It’s difficult to comment on the quality of the acting in such a film – times have changed so radically since the silent era that comparisons are meaningless, but there’s a certain gravitas to the performances and indeed the score which help to provide it with a suitably emotive atmosphere.
Visually, Earth is impressive. With only music and the odd intertitle to tell the story, this is often the way of the silent era but that doesn’t mean everyone gets it right. Dovzhenko undoubtedly does, and the sweeping vistas of the Ukrainian landscapes and produce of the land itself are beautifully captured, as are the crowds of people meeting, marching and uniting in an idealistic Communist rule.
Probably not one for the casual viewer, Earth is nevertheless an interesting piece of cinema history for students of the art. One final thing – quite why it’s an 18 certificate is anybody’s guess. Perhaps the BBFC were on holiday and the temp just took a punt.
EXTRAS None