A Simple Case (1933)

As a response to criticism for the allegedly excessive mass appeal of his earlier epic STORM OVER ASIA 1928 Vsevolod Pudovkin unleashed his flair for experimentation in what was supposed to be the directors first sound feature Everything went wrong technical problems forced him to complete the film as a silent viewers were baffled by the lack of a recognizable plot then the ideological climate of the Soviet Union changed He was now being blamed for catering to bourgeois taste Time has come to set the record straight Heres lyrical cinema at its best deliberately operatic and yet intimate as it matches the characters inner life with the solemn rhythms of nature and depicted through breathtaking blackandwhite photography A sensation at last years Pordenone fest Pudovkins longforgotten swan song to the art of montage is resurrected by Gabriel Thibaudeaus emotionally charged live music performance PCU USSR 1930 75m