Mat

In wintry 1905 Russia, "Mother" Vera Baranovskaya (as the Mother) toils over housework, while son Nikolai Batalov (as the Son) sleeps. Hard-working husband and father Aleksandr Chistyakov (as the Father) arrives home to drunkenly slap his wife around. In the opening minutes, these three characters are clearly drawn. The younger man represents collective (striking) workers while his father sides with the (oppressive) establishment. "Mother" Russia must balance love and duty. Her final decision should come as no surprise. This film highly regarded but sometimes difficult to follow. Director Vsevolod Pudovkin moves the story effectively, with quick shots. This should help you stick with it for the excellent final thirty minutes.

******* Mat (10/11/26) Vsevolod Pudovkin ~ Vera Baranovskaya, Nikolai Batalov, Aleksandr Chistyakov, Ivan Koval-Samborsky

Vsevolod Pudovkin makes a thunderous debut with this adaptation of the Gorky novel of the same name that takes place immediately before the revolution of 1905. Steeped in the traditions of Soviet montage, Pudovkin's film explores the consequences of a mother's desire to protect her revolutionary son with a style that is both strident and unrelenting, but which avoids Hollywood-style sentmentality while never losing sight of the tale's human perspective.

Released right after "Battleship Potemkin", "Mother" shows a woman forced to choose between siding with her labor-organizing son or her corrupt husband. The movie makes double sure that we get to see the living conditions in Russia in 1905, but it also uses ice as a metaphor. There are a few scenes where we see ice breaking up on the ocean; it basically shows that the old order is slowly but surely coming apart. I have to admit that this is the only Vsevolod Pudovkin movie that I've ever seen, but it's certainly a good one, if only as a historical reference. A noticeable difference between Eisenstein and Pudovkin was that Eisenstein was into typage (meaning that he liked to choose any random person who looked right for the role), while Pudovkin was very fixated on whom he wanted.

Pudovkin's Mother is a strong film that refused to be bound by the limitations of its time and should remain interesting to contemporary audiences. The plot of the film is simply outstanding. While some would say it was to be expected since the film is based off of a novel by Maxim Gorky, it should be noted that good source material does not guarantee cinematic success. The film follows a mother and her revolutionist son, Pavel, as they navigate a series of difficulties resulting from her son's allegiance.

With no speech, a major challenge for silent films is the creation of multidimensional characters. Pudovkin overcomes this challenge by being able to capture the emotions of the characters. I thought the mother, was exceptionally interesting. Her struggle did not only represent that of a loving mother, but also that of a movement. Pudovkin make great use of the camera, whether it was a side profile emphasizing the pensiveness of the character or a well-timed frontal close-up, he facilitates our ride on this emotional roller-coaster.

For the most part, I really enjoyed the pacing of the film. While the pacing did vary in tempo, it was always well within its own "groove." Even in the extremely exciting conclusion, one did not get to feel the extremely fast-paced tempo of a Battleship Potemkin, which I believe speaks to the differences between the directors. On that note, it was interesting to see how Pudovkin's use of montage differed. His cuts were far more gradual and subtle when compared to Eisenstein's in Battleship which contributed to the stability of the film.

All in all, Mother was a good watch and one of the stronger films that we have seen.

The top three directors of Soviet Era during the Silent Era were Sergei Eisenstein, Alexander Dovzhenko, and Vesevolod Pudovkin. While Eisenstein is still readily available in quality home video offerings, the same could not be said of the other two. All three were previously issued on DVD by Kino back around the turn of the century and this Flicker Alley edition is an upgraded version of those releases. While MOTHER and THE END OF SAINT PETERSBURG are virtually the same, STORM OVER ASIA has improved sonic and picture quality thanks to a digital restoration.

MOTHER (1926) was Pudovkin's first feature film and it follows the fate of a poor Russian woman who is married to a drunken, brutal husband and whose son hopes for a better life. The setting is 1905, the date of the aborted first Russian uprising and it pits father against son. Both work at the same factory but take different sides in the conflict. Finally the mother becomes involved in the conflict with tragic results. Pudovkin's use of faces and especially his montage editing (inspired by D. W. Griffith's INTOLERANCE) create a powerful drama with the proper pro-Soviet viewpoint.

THE END OF SAINT PETERSBURG (1927), which was made to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, is more abstract in style following the example of Sergei Eisenstein in his films STRIKE and BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN. It focuses on two Russian peasants who go to St Petersburg in search of work only to wind up fighting in World War I before getting caught up in the Revolution. While the imagery, especially those of trench warfare is astonishing, the story is very persuasive Soviet propaganda. The trademark use of montage editing is really utilized in the film's finale.

The crown jewel of the set as far as I am concerned is STORM OVER ASIA (1928) which should have kept its original title of THE HEIR TO GENGHIS KHAN. This story of a young Mongolian nomad who is believed to be descended from Genghis Khan is far less a polemic than a character study not only of him but of the Mongolian people. The film records an authentic Buddhist ceremony that still has the power to astound and enthrall over 90 years later. We follow the main character from nomad to Soviet fighter to a potential pawn of the British Empire as a puppet king. The so-called "storm" doesn't occur until the very end. Bonuses include a 16 page booklet, audio commentary, features on montage editing, and Pudovkin's short comedy CHESS FEVER...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.