Is Revolutionary Cinema an art? Then it required an understanding of Marxist dialectic and the desire of social transformation throughout a country. This is the main ideals that were seeking filmmaker in Latin American during the 1960s, a decade that inspire social revolutionaries, after the success of the Cuban revolution and the implementation of Marxism doctrine, to seek new techniques in order to incite revolutionary though in individuals. Most filmmakers took the Montage theories by Eisenstein as a symbol of transformation and applied them in their films to enhance their political view about social situation of their countries. Most of this filmmakers created cinematic movement, such as Cinema Novo or Third Cinema, which do not force them to apply a specific technique in the elaboration of their films, allowing them to have a freedom in experimentation in other techniques develop in other countries and use them as a propaganda for a social transformation but also to innovate cinema as an true art. This essay analyzes how filmmakers from Latin America, in Brazil and Argentina, uses the theories of montage design by Eisenstein in order to develop in cinema a new aesthetic that helped in the social transformation by the creation of new myths or a new revolution since they considered montage and Marxist dialectic as and alternative in educate and foment their political views. It will be use two films from Glauber Rocha and Fernando Solanas and it will be compare their essays or interviews to understand their political and ideological view and then compare with the theses of Eisenstein in order to delimit and understand how they apply montage in their cinematographic oeuvre.
It most remember that most of these director are trying to create a new process of formation that distant from their own historical past that is connected to western civilization and that consider a correct to follow due that they are trying to bring new opportunity to the people which is not a easy task due for the same problem of the historical position. As Jorge Sanjines (1979) point out in his essay, “the revolutionary cinema must seek beauty not as an end but as means. This proposition implies a dialectical interrelation between beauty and cinema’s objectives, which must be correctly aligned in order to produce and effective work” (62). Then the Revolutionary cinema had to transform the environment by using collision of ideas in order to create a new world; even though the cinema novo do not work outside of Brazil nor ask a unification of the continent, it works as other national cinema of the areas.
In Brazil, the Cinema Novo appeared as an answer to the legacy of the exploitation of the American companies throughout the country and the result of the lack of nationalism in the cinema industry; most filmmakers of the 1960s were experimenting in techniques to incite a revolution in the country such as Glauber Rocha who believed that cinema is a great instrument for communication and that it is also a great tool for learning about humanity and society (1970, p110), which he enhanced by the practice of Marxist dialectic in his films due that allowed to him in develop of ideas and at the same experiment in search of an revolutionary aesthetic: “Marxism’s great contribution is precisely the revelation of the possibilities for the development and application of dialectic though. This is essential in the arts, because art can only develop through a rigorous and permanent application of the dialectical method” (Rocha, 1970, P110). These thoughts are related to the theories of Eisenstein due that montage and art are part of dialectic and according to his theories art is always conflict with the social mission, nature and its methodology and between this three elements there is a collision between the emotional and rational that produce a new meaning from both elements, and this is an element that is shared in the construction of montage (Eisenstein, 1929). This collision is applied in specific moments on his films to enhance the political views of his films by montage in an artistic method, so senses can participate in the creation of meaning.
In Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol [Black God, White Devil in the land of sun] (Brazil, 1964, Rocha) montage is an element of collision that help to understand the political views and goals of the director who adopted as a mean to represent the reality of the area that is depicted in the film. The film is about the violence in the north of Brazil, which is deserted area, and follows the peasant couple Manuel and Rosa who pass through various stages of violent revolt; from the assassination of a landowner, their decision to join to a messiah leader Sebastio, who is assassinated by Rosa and then both join to Cangaceiro* Corisco who in the end of the film is assassinated by Antonio das Mortes, who was a hit man hired by a Catholic group to assassinate Sebastio but instead he kill Corisco thinking that he was the murderous of Sebastio, freeing in this way the couple who are free to go where they want (King, 1990, 110). Most of the technique of montage concentrate actually in the confrontation which evoke the collision of individuals, except in the beginning of the film where Rocha use a shot of a death cow cover by ants around the body of the animal and then use a shot of Manuel in a sitting position who did start to move and is open the shot to contemplate the desert that surround it. This montage is referred by Eisenstein as a Tonal Montage due that collision is about life and then and that affect the emotional side of the spectator, almost in as impressionistic element (Eisenstein, Autumn 1929, 75). The resemble of the figure make them look alike and then share the same fate which is not yet explained but by perceiving the desert in the back and mix with previous shot the impression seems to be death and anguish.
The next scene is when Sebastio is killed and at the same time arrive Antonio das Mortes who starts a massacre of the followers of the messiah in a stairs of the town and that the sequences of shot is rapidly edited between the couple escaping from the area, Antonio shooting while he progress in moving through the stairs while the people running in the stairs without any order trying to escape from him and even some shots present who people are being kill, although it is never present the bullet holes. The scene uses element of Rhythmic Montage due that the actual length does not coincide with the determined length in the scene and that is enlarge this length by adding more material making it more distinguished the tempo of the scene (Eisenstein, Autumn 1929, 73-74). The elements of Rhythm are necessary to the collision of ideas due that helps to felt certain connection to the individuals; In order to create this identification the Montage has to accelerate the scene and in that way the Tempo is increase not only for benefit to the scene , but to create an ideological connection by the organization of shots which also works with the movement that is perceive in each individual shot; The order between in Close-ups of human figures rushing chaotically with shots of Antonio das Mortes who descend in harmony create a chaotic movement creating a march rhythmically down the steps similar in Eisenstein films (Jacobs, 1969,152). The Rhythmic montage is exploited as an aesthetic element to attract people to the situation that the character are leaving and there felt connect to the assassination of this followers.
The other sequence to reflect the use of Eisenstein techniques is in the confrontation of Cangaceiro Corisco and Antonio das Mortes and that in the last part of the fight the Cangaceiro jumps and Rocha uses two more times the same shot creating a effect similar to certain films of Eisenstein to emphasize the raging of Cangaceiro and the extreme violence of the scene and creating in this process a cinematic metaphor from the fury of Corisco before his death (Cook, 2004, 129) and that led the freedom of the peasant in order to be able to escape of this area. This sequence enhances the violence of the character that is an element that Rocha exploited in the film by montage to connect his ideas of revolution and change to the audience.
In Argentina two filmmaker decided to create a continental, and even world wide, movement in creating revolution against the countries who have colonized or kept a capitalistic system to the third world countries and these last want have to start a era of revolutions, violent ones, in order to regain the freedom and become independent. These films for decolonization try to create a revolution in the entire continent and not only in a regional area by using the theories of Eisenstein to create an effect of solidarity and an intellectual revolution among individuals.
Fernando Solanas and Octavio Getino in their essay “Towards a Third Cinema” mention the capacity for synthesis and the penetration of the film image in the mind of individuals and the power of enlightenment of audiovisual as a medium communication (Solana & Getino, 1983, 44), a goal that they were looking in the creation of their films that motivate the people to mobilize, agitate and politicize sector of the people; to arm them with rationality and perception about the struggles and problems that had their nations (Solana & Getino, 1983, 39). In this essay the ideals of Third Cinema is to encourage filmmakers to immerse themselves in every stage of cinematic production including and exhibition (Pick, 1996, 58) but keeping a freedom in choosing any artistic movement and aesthetic that would help them to enhance the propaganda of revolution.
In La Hora de los Hornos: Notas y Testimonios Sobre el Neocolonialismo, La Violencia y La Liberacion parte I [The Hour of the Furnaces: Notes and Testimonies about Neocolonialism, Violence and Liberation (1965-1968)] (Argentina, 1968, Getino & Solanas), Solanas and Getino achieved a documentary that is a fusion between the Third World radicalism with the artistic innovation that revives the historical sense of avant-garde and cultural militancy towards to political participation of the individuals and that which experiment a new Cinematographic languages that generates meaning and secures the film's relevance (Stam, 1998, 254). By the combination of photos, archive footage and some paintings the furnace achieve to tell the story of Argentina, and the Third World Country, who is perceived that the inequalities of the area are the result of neocolonialism, a term that refer that Third world countries are in control economical, political and ideological by a external power, usually from a 1rst world country. It must be remind it that most of the symbol and photos used in this documental are from the late 1960s ideology and the dialectic is formed for that period of time (Stam, 1998, 255), Nevertheless the interpretation had allows to understand the collision of ideologies, between Marxism and capitalism (neocolonialism) in the entire film and that uses Eisenstein techniques to achieve this dialectic, which promotes dialectical readings of the region's history (Pick, 1998, 111). Therefore, the furnace have to be understand as a film that the key element is revolution against neocolonialism and the historical oppression of the third world.
Solanas applies from the beginning a Rhythmic Montage by colliding shots of written phrases of famous writers and guerrillas fighters and shots of people who are protesting in the streets and that collide with the words while in a fast pace are shown to the audience. The scene started with a slow pace that is control from the music and cut from time to time to the shot from letter to the violent shot, however as gradually the music change to a more accelerate pace the images are also increasing their editing to a faster and faster increasing the violence that they represent and even the letters are more fast creating sensation of excitement but in a violent way. Is with this introduction that is used the elements of montage as Eisenstein identify the basic structure of montage: “A view that from the collision of two given factors arises a concept” (Eisenstein, 1929, 37). As it was mention before, the collision of ideas is part of art too, then by creating this collision Solanas is also creating art and that inspire his own ideas; in addition to this, there is also the desire of political view that is manifested in the shots and that induce to the spectator to reflect or even to invite to continue to see the film and learn a new perspective. In the use of Eisenstein ideas allow him to fulfill his desire in create a new cinema, the Third Cinema.
The second scene to be analyse is the collision between the painting of the libertadores* that a join with people who are playing golf in modern Argentina; although the voice over are telling about how neocolonialism was created since the independence, it actually never mention nothing about the people who are playing golf. This scene is in Eisenstein theory an overtonal montage due that the collision of images created a sense of relationship among painting and golfer; one form of connection that is not a clear trait until you collide both ideas and that create new understanding (Eisenstein, autumn 1929, 79). This collision do reflect the past and present and mix it instead of subordination from one to the other, this is only possible by using overtonal montage because the relationship has to be created by the audience by colliding this shots. As Zuzana M. Pick (1998) mentions in The new Latin American Cinema a Continental Project, Solana in the editing process enabled him to work in a constructive structuring of the materials, whereby new ideas were developed and critical elements were tested (58) and in this process the furnaces seeks an investment in conflicting instances of national consciousness (60), as a result in testing the overtonal montage and the development of the ideology anti-neocolonialist.
In the third scene to be analysed is the scene from a slaughterhouse where is intercutting scenes from a slaughterhouse and pop-culture advertising icons. This scene is exploited further by actually show how is kill the cows with a hammer while the pop culture invite to the audience to gaze the female and male figures and invite to see more of the slaughterhouse. This scene correspond to Eisenstein theory of Intellectual Montage due that require conflict-juxtaposition of accompanying intellectual effects by combining two shot that are not related or that one of them is outside of the filming, asking to the audience to combine the emotional and intellectual ones in order to understand this (Eisenstein, 1929,82). The advertisement are not related to the slaughterhouse, physically, but it has a connection with the Argentinean situation; As Robert Stam mention, “in Argentina, where live-stock is a basic industry, the same workers who can barely afford the meat that they themselves produce are simultaneous encouraged by advertising to consume the useless products of the multinational companies” (261). This shot required a complete participation from the entire film since it not only collide with this two shot but from the rest of the film that since the beginning, explain the necessity of live-stock as industry, the bad nutrition of the people, and the constant invasion of product and ideologies from other countries; this scene and the editing allows to join the entire film in to juxtaposition images, first the slaughterhouse that kill the cows and resembles the images of the peasants in Argentina, and then the advertisement that is use in the do reflect the ideology of the first world and their invasion of ideology and that is adopted by bourgeoisie and that are show through the entire film.
Another element that has to be mention is the collision of sound with image and that is another aesthetic element that have to be consider by analysing this films and that is part of the theories of Eisenstein. This an element that he could not analysed as he did with image editing, he mainly mention briefly about the possibilities of sound in montage: “[A]nd let us not now forget that soon we shall face another and less simple problem in counterpoint in the sound film of acoustic and optics” (Eisenstein, 1929, 40). However he did envisioned the possibilities of Sound as a tool to enhance the montage techniques, but that have to obey certain qualities, which he consider that sound have to distinct non-synchronization with the visual image (Eisenstein, 1928, 258). This applied in the furnaces and Deus and Diablo and that help to increase the use of dialectical montage as a system of conflict by the collision of sound with the image and create, or perhaps help in the development of meaning.
For instances in the furnaces the sound is non diegetic sound such as a Tango that celebrate the beauty of the nation while the image from a poor area named Conventillos* that camera track an entire house where people lived in misery and in sadness while the song ask to celebrate the greatness and the love of the great nation and success of the revolution. This element is one key aspect of montage using sound, since Eisenstein claim that is the only possible way to create meaning. Grigori Vassilievitch Alexandrov mention in an interview about working with Eisenstein: “Because Eisenstein believed that synchronous sound, agreeing with the image, is a theatrical mean while in the cinema sound must be an elements of the composition: sometimes the conflict between sound and image produces quite new impressions” (Alexandrov, 1965, 61). The contrast of the music with image create a sense of discomfort about what we see and what hear, allowing to the end take as truthful the image since the image is the most prominent element in the montage and cinema; sound in this case works as an aid to collaborate in creation of meaning. Although the scene do not use montage, it provide collision by use of sound to create new meanings and that works in different levels since ask to other sense beside sight to participate in the creation of meaning and allow a complete perception of Dialectic montage in a Cinema, a Cinema of revolution.
Thus, Eisenstein’s theories provide several connections to the development of cinema revolution through Latin America which apply several theories of montage and Marxist dialectic to develop films that it would provide a social transformation through violence or intellectual revolution and foment a renovation to the classic standard life that had people in through the continent and that it was a common issue around all the areas. Most of Latin America cinematic movement is during the 1960s that were a period that is highly politicized the area due the success of the Cuban revolution and that inspire the area to search new techniques that were communist, then Eisenstein’s theory become a symbol of renovation and change. The use of montage serve to enhance their political views about the continent but also to create a new aesthetic in Latin America that was never defined by anyone; by being a movement without a style it allow them to experiment and in sometime improve the techniques that they used. In the freedom of Aesthetic that applies Montage in order that art become a tool in the creation of revolution, as a social transformation or description of violence in the continent and give to the audience an alternative in politics, economic and cultural with a new political view.
In Deus and Devil and the furnaces applied montage to sophisticate the political ideas that had the directors help to create a political film that innovate the cinema of the directors’ region; these films create a popular revolution in specific moments rather than the entire films as Eisenstein did tried through his career; The key moment establish collision of shots that were exploited to enhance the highly politicize meaning that only can be understand by a overall of the film and the theme that they depict in the film but also the collision of shots that create a specific meaning and that is understand by the audience; since most part of the film is to foment education to the audience, did not required a level of education or sophistication in art knowledge, but it did require engagement to the main argument to understand the meaning of the montage.
The films are explanatory about the events as in Deus e Devil that from the beginning uses panoramic scene to picture the desert area and then uses montage to promote a extra meaning to the place that is the suffering of the habitants of the place through violence, while the furnaces uses montage from the beginning but add voice over to create an extra narrative to enhance the collision of the shots; in addition to this, the film also uses sound as an element of dialectic to create new meanings when is not been used montage by image and allow to continue in the new formation of meaning.
Then, the final result is a film that is highly politic but at the same time innovate the aesthetic of their time and did present new ideas in the world wide cinema; it also bring awareness that art is dialectic since require conflict to create meaning to the people, since Cinema Revolution is also art, have to be taken an advance to understand cinema in collision of shots that will create new social transformation, which in the end History has absolve this movement and Eisenstein as an artist.
Work Cited
Alexandrov V. G. (1965) “Working with Eisenstein”. In L.Schnitzer, J. Schnitzer & Marcel Martin (eds) and D. Robinson (trans). Cinema in revolution: The heroic era of the Soviet Film edited by Luda and Jean Schnitzer and Marcel Martin; translated and with additional material by David Robinson 4th (Pp 51-64) New York: Da Capo Press.
Cook, A. David. (2004). A History of Narrative Film Fourth Edition. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Eisenstein S. (1929) “A Dialectic Approach to Film Form”. In Leyda J. (Ed. And Trans). Film Form Essays in Film Theory. (Pp45-63) United States of America: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Plubishers.
Eisenstein S. (Autumn, 1929) “Methods of Montage”. In Leyda J. (Ed. And Trans). Film Form Essays in Film Theory. (Pp72-83) United States of America: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Plubishers.
Eisenstein S. (1928) “Appendix A. A Statement on the Sound-Film by Eisenstein, Pudovkin, and Alexandrov”. In Leyda J. (Ed. And Trans). Film Form Essays in Film Theory. (Pp257-260) United States of America: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Plubishers.
Getino, O. & Solanas F. (1968) La Hora de los Hornos: Notas y Testimonios Sobre el Neocolonialismo, La Violencia y La Liberacion parte I. Argentina: Grupo Cine Liberacion
Jacobs, L. (1969) The Emergence of Film Art: The Evolution and Development of the Motion Picture as an Art, from 1900 to the Present. New York: Hopkinson and Blake, Publishers.
King J. (1990). Magical reels : a history of cinema in Latin America / John King. London: Published in association with the Latin American Bureau, Verso.
Pick Z. M. (1996). The New Latin American Cinema: A Continental Project. 2nd Austin: University of Texas Press.
Rocha, G. (1964) Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol. Brazil: Banco Nacional de Minas Gerais.
Rocha, G. (1970) “Glauber Rocha (Brazil), Cinema Novo and the Dialectics of Popular Culture”. In Burton Julianne (ed.). Cinema and Social Change in Latin America Conversations with Filmmakers. (Pp 105-113) Austin: University of Texas Press.
Sanjines j. (1979) “Problems of Form and Content in Revolutionary Cinema”. In Martin M. T. New Latin American cinema / edited by Michael T. Martin (Vol.1, pp. 62-70) Detroit: Wayne State University Press.
Solanas F. & Getino Octavion. (1983) “Towards a Third Cinema: Notes and Experiences for the Development of a Cinema of Liberation in the Third Word”. In Martin M. T. New Latin American cinema / edited by Michael T. Martin (Vol.1, pp. 62-70) Detroit: Wayne State University Press.
Stam R. (1998) “The Two Avant-gardes: Solanas and Getino’s The Hour of the Furnaces”. In Grant B. K. Documenting the Documentary Close Readings of Documentary Film and Video. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.
* Bandit
* A Revolutionary leader during independence.
* Shinny town. These are areas created by the government to keep poor people and immigrant without income outside of the big cities as Argentina. The name is regional, but the concept is used through Latin America.
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