Book: Directory Of World Cinema: Russia
Release date: 1st October 2010
Author: Birgit Beumers (Editor)
Publisher: Intellect
The newly emerging Directory Of World Cinema series of books is an ambitious strategy to document all manner of international films and their filmmakers with a single concise voice. It’s a burgeoning franchise with a total of four volumes on release (at the time of this writing), each looking at a different national cinema. So far, there is an entry for Japan, Australia & New Zealand, American Independent and Russia, with the prospect of many more to come.
It may be worth pointing out straight away that while Directory Of World Cinema: Russia is an interesting read for both budding film student and seasoned scholar alike, it is far from a one-stop-shop definitive text on its subject. Intellect plan to release numerous, region-specific volumes at two year intervals as a means of expanding the directory into a fully fledged database, both in print and online, with and emphasis on academic validity.
Content and structure are at the whim of that particular edition's editor; in this book's case, it’s Birgit Beumers, a published author who specialises in Russian culture, film and theatre and is a Reader at the University of Bristol. After an introduction from the editor, the book moves into a section that celebrates/analyses Russia's 'Film of the Year' that appears to have been either peer-selected or chosen by the Beumers herself. The choice is Wolfy (2009), written and directed by Russian playwright-turned filmmaker Vasilii Sigarev. Adapted from one of Sigarev's plays, it focuses on the estranged relationship between a mother and her daughter. This is then followed by an interview segment with Sigarev and the film's leading lady Iana Troianova.
The book then opens up its focus to look at the history of the industry via essay writing as well as profiles on select directors. The usual acknowledgements are made to well recognised masters such as Sergei Eisenstein (one of the pioneers of Soviet Montage) and Andrei Tarkovskii (director of Andrei Rublev and Solaris), as well as filmmakers perhaps not as well known to western audiences, including Evgenii Bauer – perhaps Russia's most important pre-revolution filmmaker – and Nikita Mikhalkov.
Rather than a chronological summation of the evolution of Russian film that points out the nation's key movements, films and filmmakers along the way, the Directory Of World Cinema opts to break down Russian cinema into varying categories/genres – Literary Adaptations, War Films, Melodrama, Animation, etc. Each section is introduced with an essay that establishes the contextual framework in which that particular category/section should be viewed, followed by a series of critiques on the key films that qualify for said category. Every film critique contains a synopsis, analysis and technical information including cast and crew listings...
This system bears mixed results. On one hand, it’s interesting and useful with regards to charting the development of a particular strain of Russian cinema as well as to see the inter-textual knock-on effect from one example to the next. However, the book becomes increasingly difficult to navigate, especially if one is looking for a particular film. Although the films are arranged chronologically within their given sections, there's no list present in the book detailing which films are included and what sections they are in - there isn't even an index, making it pretty much impossible to jump straight to areas of the book where information about your particular subject might be lurking.
Despite the book's many film reviews having been supplied by various contributors (mostly associate professors and PhD holders), Beumers enforces a strict uniformity and a very easy to read house style for novice and seasoned scholar alike. Also, film reviews are not bogged down with subjective opinion and colloquial rhetoric, making each analysis clear and ideal to quote from if required. However, there is a potential deal-breaking caveat in the form of Intellect's accompanying World Directory Of Cinema website, where all of the film reviews found in this (and other) editions can be accessed for free.
While the book promotes healthy inter-linking between films, filmmakers and genres, wider film theory attributed to Russia is left twisting in the wind. Lev Kuleshov's pioneering 'Kuleshov Effect' – which demonstrated the importance and effectiveness of film editing to convey various emotional responses pending on the combination of images – is largely ignored here, despite it being a fundamental building block in the development of common film language. However, such omissions may be addressed in future instalments.
Directory Of World Cinema: Russia is a difficult one to judge as it’s a single piece of what will surely become a huge and complex printed database; only time will tell if Intellect's ambitious endeavours will pay off and it will be interesting to see how the series develops. If you are looking for extended essays, director profiles and research resources, as well as to indulge in more generalised reading of Russian cinema history and film-by-film development, Beumers’ book is not a bad place to start. MP
No comments:
Post a Comment