The General Line
dir. Sergei Eisenstein · 1929
Feature
Class Warfare
Mood
Uplifting
Look
stark contrasts, dynamic montage, expressive use of light and shadow
Structure
episodic with a focus on character-driven vignettes
Plot
100.000.000 peasants - illiterate, poor, hungry. There comes a day when one woman decides that she can live old life no longer. Using ways of new Soviet state and industrial progress she changes life and labor of her village.
Why watch
A woman in a struggling Soviet village stands up against the oppressive weight of tradition and poverty, igniting a movement for change. Watching this film is like witnessing the birth of a new social order, where the collective spirit of the community is harnessed to reshape their destiny.
Talking points
- the role of women in revolution
- the impact of industrialization on rural life
- the aesthetics of early Soviet cinema
- the relationship between individual and collective identity
Cultural context
post-revolutionary Soviet Unionrise of collectivismagrarian strugglesearly cinematic experimentation