"Putyovka k Zhizn" has the distinction and historical interest of being the first Soviet sound film, and its adaptations to the new technology make it a sometimes strange but quite worthwhile experience to watch. While sounds was new and undoubtedly must have presented some technical difficulties, the makers of this film must have made a definite decision not to compromise visual style in the face of the introduction of sound.
While dialog helps to tell the story, it remains a very visual film, full of lasting, striking images -- especially of the desperate street children in the earlier parts of the film. In fact, in many ways it retains a silent-film style -- with dramatic, close images, artists slowing of the film at various point, dwelling shots to convey story, and copious (interestingly realized) inter-titles to convey story. This combined with the audible voices makes for a unique and rather extraordinary viewing experience.
As perhaps might be expected for such a lavish expense of a film in its historical context, it is also a propaganda film -- but it is a well-made propaganda film that leaves a lot of strong impressions beyond those of its political message. The moral is that homelessness can be fought and street children made into useful members of society through the virtue of communal work -- but the film does not shirk from showing us the problem in a human way, so the boys do feel like characters. And, when all is said and done, we do have a piece where one of the boys is responsible for the other's death on the tracks. We end on a downer note with a prime reformed child needlessly killed, casting doubt on the idea that work really redeems absolutely everyone.
The pace is deliberately slow, which contributes to the dreamlike, visual nature of the storytelling. It may be a political message film, but it's not entirely a two-dimensional one, and it is one from before the imposition of Socialist Realism in Soviet art, which allows it to be an expressive, experimental film in its visual style. It's a confident step into sound filmmaking that operates by merely adding dialog to the bold, expressive, and occasionally almost avant-garde style of Soviet silent film, and that makes it well worth a viewing.
While dialog helps to tell the story, it remains a very visual film, full of lasting, striking images -- especially of the desperate street children in the earlier parts of the film. In fact, in many ways it retains a silent-film style -- with dramatic, close images, artists slowing of the film at various point, dwelling shots to convey story, and copious (interestingly realized) inter-titles to convey story. This combined with the audible voices makes for a unique and rather extraordinary viewing experience.
As perhaps might be expected for such a lavish expense of a film in its historical context, it is also a propaganda film -- but it is a well-made propaganda film that leaves a lot of strong impressions beyond those of its political message. The moral is that homelessness can be fought and street children made into useful members of society through the virtue of communal work -- but the film does not shirk from showing us the problem in a human way, so the boys do feel like characters. And, when all is said and done, we do have a piece where one of the boys is responsible for the other's death on the tracks. We end on a downer note with a prime reformed child needlessly killed, casting doubt on the idea that work really redeems absolutely everyone.
The pace is deliberately slow, which contributes to the dreamlike, visual nature of the storytelling. It may be a political message film, but it's not entirely a two-dimensional one, and it is one from before the imposition of Socialist Realism in Soviet art, which allows it to be an expressive, experimental film in its visual style. It's a confident step into sound filmmaking that operates by merely adding dialog to the bold, expressive, and occasionally almost avant-garde style of Soviet silent film, and that makes it well worth a viewing.
