Editing in "Man With a Movie Camera"

This was one of the most interesting films I have ever seen. Dziga Vertov's 1929 experiment in film has absolutely no plot, but explores aspects of Russian city life through a continuous montage of random images edited together. The editing of these images is intentionally obvious in an effort to force the audience to interpret the juxtapositions. Most modern audiences would not even consider Man With a Movie Camera a movie at all, because there isn't even a hint of conventional narrative. However, Vertov took a more unique approach in order to fully explore the artistic and technologic possibilities of the movie camera. It challenges the viewer to see the beauty and complexity in the seemingly ordinary objects in the world around us, through the innovative approach to editing.

Every single "scene" (it is difficult to pinpoint starting and ending points to scenes, if there even are any) could be extensively dissected to study the editing style, but some of my favorite parts are when two shots are forged together. Shown in the above picture, two seemingly unrelated images are edited together, creating a surreal or whimsical final image. Another example of this is the shot of a glass of beer, with the cameraman standing inside. The intention of Vertov's editing in these shots is difficult to guess, but the impact was unique. My reaction to those couple of scenes ranged from amusement to artistic appreciation (especially for the innovation in a time period of limited film technology).

Throughout Man With a Movie Camera, the shots are mostly succinct and random, with shock cuts dominating the transitions. However, occasionally there are breaks from this style, like when he fluidly dissolves repeated images of a woman opening her window into each other for a relatively extended shot. Those couple of seconds felt like a relief to my eyes after watching so many straight cuts. Perhaps this was intended as a visual aesthetic and a calming pause in the hectic morning of the Russian city.

I would definitely recommend watching this film (or at least segments), just as an appreciation for the possibilities of film as an art. There are no main characters or dramatic narratives to hold your attention, but the editing is unique in revealing truths without those conventionalities.