I'll Be Your Sheep And Follow You Where Ever You Go: Lonesome (1928)

I have had the very great fortune of being able to begin volunteering at the Moving Images Research Center at the University of South Carolina.  While it is still only basic work I am doing, I have instantly come to realize how necessary preservation is to assuring the place in films lasting for generations to come, furthermore, I understand the true benefit of restoration.  While the items housed at this archive are mainly news reels, many have considerable historical value and have been saved from destruction.  Archives like the MIRC are saving cinematic treasures, as well as rediscovering works long forgotten.  Recently, Criterion released a relatively unknown silent/talkie hybrid called Lonesome and proved just how great archives can prove in the restoration and returning of classics to public access.  Lonesome, a largely experimental work, is a magnificent combination of soundtrack work, colorization and surprisingly well-tuned acting all resulting in an endearing little romance film that clocks in just over an hour.  While it does not fit into the definition of timeless, Lonesome is clearly a film that transcends its era and reaches out to touch even contemporary audiences as myself and my girlfriend can attest.  We both thoroughly enjoyed the film, for its cinematic expression and earnest simplicity.  The narrative is broken up occasionally by moments of sound dialogue, but given the build before each scene the moments seem like almost oneiric treats that pass through almost poetically through the work.  In a very brief amount of time Pal Fejos manages to undermine everything thought traditional about silent era filmmaking and his success is unprecedented.

Lonesome, follows a day of experiences for one lonesome guy named Jim (Glenn Tryon) and a lonesome girl named Mary (Barbara Kent) who live in the bustling city of New York and seem lost and hopeless of ever finding a partner to grow old with.  The two by pure chance end up going to Coney Island for a daycation (as my girlfriend aptly calls them), only to run into each other.  Jim, in one of the most swag monologues in film history, compares himself to a sheep who is adored with Mary and would follow her anywhere to be with her and he seems to succeed at doing so, up until they are separated after entering changing stations.  Fortunately, the two reconnect at a carnival later that night, in which they share in a variety of fun and games that range from spinning rooms, to photo booth opportunities, and even throwing balls at mechanical cats, to win Mary a doll.  Things between the sweet couple are going stellar and they both admit to their working class identities, only to love each other more for it, and we can assume all will be perfect for the duo.  Tragically, during a roller coaster ride the couple is split up and due to a fire scare Mary faints and Jim is attained by police while attempting to come to her aid.  Jim is able to get released after explaining his situation to an understanding lieutenant, only to return to the carnival a bit too late and get caught in a storm that continually severs the two.  Jim returns home distraught and puts a record on of a song that the two danced to while at the fair.  We are then shown Mary returning home to hear the record playing in the background.  It is at this moment that we realize Jim and Mary are actually neighbors, as do they, the two are united once again in a loving embrace, prepared to live in a joyous future together.

I will sound a bit pretentious when I say this, considering I was not alive then, but they simply do not make romance films like this anymore.  Placed aside Jean Vigo's L'Atalante, this is a classic love story, shot unconventionally and with many twists, yet incredibly accessible.  Yet where Vigo creates a need to form love, Fejos suggests a bit of magic to falling in love, particularly with the dreamlike and seemingly otherworldy nature of cinematic effects and the addition of talking scenes.  I could not help but recall La Jatee, particularly when the movie briefly cuts to a scene of moving imagery, in between still frames.  The talking scenes function as a means to make fate, chance and perseverance combine together to a moment of sheer perfection.  It is perhaps this moment of inexplainable success at attaining a desire moment that makes this film so good.  Jim and Mary clearly want to be together, but the exacting of fate upon them makes the two engage in a variety of obstacles to prove their desire.  It is an earnest love film because it is not at any point taken for granted and as viewers one finds themselves rooting for their success, even if the storyline is a bit predictable, I would imagine in 1928 it was a bit of a revelation.

Key Scene: Pretty much anything that happens at the carnival is brilliant.

Lonesome is one of those films that came out of nowhere and that I knew nothing about before purchasing.  With that being said it is easily one of my new favorite silent films and well worth getting for your personal collection.  The CC bluray is stunning and includes Fejos other films to boot!

To Her, He Was A Son: Ballad Of A Soldier (1959)

Russia, historically speaking, has cemented themselves as a stark contradiction to the American film style.  Whether it be the prolific Man With A Movie camera, or the entirety of Eisenstein's ouevre, narrative dissonance and non-linear editing are their thing, so when I approached Ballad of a Solider, I assumed these would be traits of the film, however, within only moments of viewing the clearly melodramatic film, I was baffled to find its clearly American composition.  Between long reaction shots, use of music to emphasize emotion and the focus of redemption within the narrative, Ballad of A Soldier is not entirely Russian in its composition.  Now that by no means makes this a terrible piece of cinema, in fact, it is quite great and clocking it at just under ninety minutes, the film is accessible and earnest.  Furthermore, the films is neither a clear condemnation of war efforts, nor is it set out in praising the validity of warfare.  The narrative of Grigoriy Chukhray's film, which he both wrote and directed, is as the title suggests about a soldier and is certainly a ballad at that, considering its lyrical nature. It focuses on one character and his vision of a slowly eroding nation, one that evolves from foolish youthful ignorance to adult disillusionment.  If it were not for films like Forbidden Games and Ivan's Childhood, I would define this as one of the greatest coming of age tales ever composed, but mind you if I ever were to make a list of the top ten, it would certainly make the list.

Ballad of a Soldier, begins immediately as action is depicted while the credits begin to roll.  We are provided with an image of an elderly woman wandering towards a dirt road that leads to her rural village.  The film's narrator quickly explains that she is waiting for her son, a soldier, who will never return, because he like so many his age, were casualties of World War II and was lost to a haunting memory.  The film then enters into a flashback, which introduces us to the films protagonist, Alyosha (Vladimir Ivashov) a wide-eyed private who has recently received praise for single-handedly destroying two tanks.  When offered medals for his feats, he counters with a request to simply visit his mother and help her repair his homes leaking roof.  Agreeing to his request, Alyosha's superior grants him six days to complete his task and return to his battalion.  Gracious at the amount of time he has been allotted, Alyhosa leaves camp ecstatic and heads towards his hometown.  His obstacles start immediately, however, when he is stopped by a fellow soldier who begs that he deliver a gift to his wife, who resides on a street quite close to a train station in which he will make a stop.  Alyosha in his kind manner, agrees and continues on his quest.  During his first stop via train, he also helps a crippled soldier, only to discover that he plans to leave his wife upon returning home, with the help of a station agent, Alyosha convinces the man to stay with his wife, unfortunately, his task means that he will miss his scheduled train.  After bribing a guard, he is able to ride on a cargo train and eventually meets a young woman named Shura (Zhanna Prokhorenko) for whom he immediately falls.  This quick romance fills in the remainder of the travel narrative as she comes with him to drop off the gifts to the soldiers wife, only to discover that she has left him for another man.  After a bittersweet departure from Shura, Alyosha affords just enough time to visit his mother briefly, giving her a kiss and the gift of a headscarf before leaving back to the war front, a place that the narrator reminds us will be his final resting place.

I stated that Ballad of a Soldier is not blatantly a condemnation of war and am quite certain of that assertion.  While it certainly shows the casualties and destructive nature of battling in the name of politics, the narrative suggests that it is simply part of human nature and necessary for individuals to understand that the world is indeed divided into good and evil.  While this certainly would drive Nietzsche into a fit, it seems much more appropriate for Russian tradition.  With heavily existential motifs a part of their cultural history, Ballad of a Soldier is certainly similar.  Alyosha represents an individual who adheres to the good nature of the world, despite being constantly shown that people are inherently bad, particularly those with power or those out of the eye of condemnation, as are evident in the demanding train guard or the cheating wife.  Yet, even in these moments of despair, Alyosha does meet people inspire him to do right, a notion that is initially implanted in him by the general who allows him to take leave.  Now the issue arises with Ballad of a Soldier in the death of Alyosha, something that is depicted off screen.  If we were shown the death of the young soldier on screen, we would be provided with something that would either confirm or deny his existence, yet the film closes with him leaving into the horizon.  The notion of a soldier like Alyosha is a memory, something that you can praise in a ballad, yet something that exists in an incomprehensible world.  Ultimately, Ballad of a Soldier is not a commentary on war as much as it is a nostalgic reflection on a generation who lost their youth.

Key Scene: The initial meeting between Alyosha and Shura is so well shot and acted that it seems to be documentary footage.

Yet another brilliant offering from Criterion, Ballad of a Soldier is a must own and I doubt it will get a bluray upgrade so there is no time like the present.