Neobychainye priklyucheniya mistera Vesta v strane bolshevikov

To state the new Soviet Union and its Bolshevik leaders were having a worldwide image problem in the early 1920s is an understatement. With the bloody upheaval of the ruling Romanovs and the Revolution of 1917, Russia was the first to implement Karl Marx's philosophy of communism into its government. The takeover was so sharp that some of the Allies, soon after The Great War, sent forces to assist the White Russians in their attempt to overthrow the overthrowers. The ultimate success of the Bolsheviks stunned governments throughout the world, with many economically boycotting the collection of communist countries making up the newly-formed Soviet Union.

Film theorist/director Lev Kuleshov aimed to correct the worldwide portrayal of the Soviets as the modern-day barbarians. He knew comedy was the quickest way to change audiences' perceptions on deeply ingrained stereotypes. With a witty script written by Nikolai Aseyev and Vsevolod Pudovkin, the later a soon-to-be noted film director, Kuleshov released April 1924's "The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr. West in the Land of the Bolsheviks." The screenplay called for several Hollywood-type characters and movie's common themes to be introduced, beginning with Mr. West (Porfiri Podobed), a YMCA official from Cleveland. Mr. West planned to visit Moscow to introduce the goals of the men's club athletic organization. To prepare for the trip, he and his protective escort, cowboy friend Jeddie (Boris Barnet), researched several American magazine articles to discover how rough and uneduated Russian people really were.

Once the two arrive in Moscow, Mr. West, a ringer for comedian Harold Lloyd, and Jeddie, a Tom Mix-type Westerner, soon are confronted by an abduction group who attempt to extort an enormous sum of money for their release. Mr. West forms a different opinion on the Russian people and its new government when, like the United States Calvary, the Soviet law enforcement come to the rescue. An escorted trip through the Moscow streets by one enforcement officer serves as an affirmation by Kuleshov that the Romanov intellectual and art institutions so treasured by the world not only are standing, but they are thriving under the Bolsheviks.

"The Extraordinary Adventures" was the first major movie for Kuleshov to put into practice many of his famous cinematic editing theories. As a teacher and one of the founders of the newly-formed National Film School in Moscow, he made a name for himself by deriving the Kuleshov Effect. Explaining how a selection of shots during the editing process can affect the perceptions of movie viewers, Kuleshov demonstrated the process through a sequence of connected shots.

He took a clip of movie actor Ivan Mosjoukine, who looks non-expressively into the camera, while juxtapositioning shots of a bowl of soup, a little girl in a coffin, and a woman on a divan. In each sequence, Ivan's face appears to viewers to verify either his hunger for the soup, his grief over the girl's death, or his desire for the reclining woman. Kuleshov proved through the editor's manipulation of the sequential shots it's the viewer's intuition rather than Mosjoukine's outward expressions that determined what was going through Ivan's mind.

Kuleshov examples were the basis on the montage editing theories perfected by Sergei Eisenstein and other Russian directors, whose techniques and philosophy spread to filmmakers worldwide in a short period of time.

The adventures of Mr. West in the land of the Bolsheviks is as bizarre and absurd as its title. Most interesting for us Westerners is the stereotypes portrayed of the Bolsheviks and the Americans themselves. Ignorance is universal, I suppose. All in all, the film is rather funny and Kuleshov's use of the Soviet montage techniques popularised by the period is fascinating for any student or fan of film.

The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr. West in the Land of the Bolsheviks will not ignite your passions, but it is sure to satisfy any humorous appetite as the naive Mr. West falls victim to deception after deception from a collection of crooks and rogues shortly after his arrival in Moscow. The film is a propaganda piece that aims for only two things: The glorification of the Bolshevik way of life, and an easily digestible story to ensure that this message is well received. It succeeds at both.

Mr. West, the symbol of the typical rich American (really, it's all in the name), knows little about the Bolsheviks. He can only rely on the unflattering depiction in the New York magazine: unkempt men adorned by large mustaches and wearing fur clothes suitable for a Neanderthal. It is no surprise that when Mr. West travels to Russia in accordance with his duties as President of the YMCA , he takes caution by bringing Jeddie, a loyal gun slinging 'cowboy' bodyguard, along for protection.

Throughout the film we see deliberate contrasts between the orderly soviet society of the Bolsheviks and the haphazard actions of the Americans that disrupt it. Jeddie lasso's the coachman of a horse and buggy and hijacks it causing a scene and an ensemble of police men to give chase. Mr. West's ignorance lands him into the clutches of thieves causing a stir at his workplace. The director is careful however, not to mock the Americans' other values, which include loyalty (Mr. West to his wife when tested by "the countess", and Jeddie to Mr. West), and a certain innocence. Without these, the film could never reach out to an American audience, and never win over their hearts and minds.

The Bolsheviks only truly shine when Mr. West is rescued from Zhban and his cohorts. He then is granted a tour of Moscow and views all the civic achievements of the new government, the processions, the radio tower, the workers attending to their duties in lockstep fashion.

When a pure and simple mind such as Mr. West's can marvel at the Bolshevik's good works, we too cannot help but agree that maybe the Bolshevik's weren't so bad after all.

American ignorance based on stereotypes was in 1924 as big as today. As well as Soviet propaganda. Only this is a very good film, in many respects. Lev Kuleshov at his best. Think at the famous Kuleshov Effect and all that staff, you'll find it in this movie. By the way, Kuleshov was known by his friends as openly pro-American and quietly anti-Soviet (not that it would matter; anyway he passed through the great purges of Stalin by keeping low-key). One of the roles (the chief of crocks) was played by Vsevolod Pudovkin (who also co-signed the scenario). A last hint: in the final scene of military parade, you will see for only one instant the figure of Trotsky (as the film was made in 1924, Stalin was not yet in full control).

The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr. West in the Land of Bolsheviks happens to be the most entertaining Soviet propaganda film I have ever seen (and as a student of Russian Studies, I have seen quite a few Soviet propaganda films). American Mr. West and his trusty companion—the cowboy Jeddie—go off to see the land of the Bolsheviks, which they are warned is chaotic and barbaric place. When they arrive, Jeddie is arrested (for lassoing and shooting a man in the fashion of a Clint Eastwood character) and Mr. West is taken in by a group of thieves. What unfolds is quite the tale. Kuleshov was a master of editing—he used editing of shots in order to make them something new, and that is seen in The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr. West in the Land of Bolsheviks. For example, the closing scenes of the movie show a series of cuts—all quick scenes around Moscow pieced together. Even though Jeddie and Mr. West aren't in all of the scenes, viewers are under the impression that they are because of the way Kuleshov has pieced the cells together. On the propaganda side of things, the film is pretty easy to interpret. Jeddie and Mr. West—as Americans— symbolize American ignorance and all that is flawed with America—and therefore capitalism. The true Bolsheviks in the movie are portrayed as pure and good—showing that communism and Bolshevism is the true way to go. Mr. West is a highly entertaining movie—even if you are but a simple minded member of the proletariat.