In the peaceful countryside, Vassily opposes the rich kulaks over the coming of collective farming.
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Title: Zemlya (1930)
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| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Stepan Shkurat | ... | Opanas (as S. Shkurat) | |
| Semyon Svashenko | ... | Vasyl - son of Opanas (as S. Svashenko) | |
| Yuliya Solntseva | ... | Daughter of Opanas (as Yu. Solntseva) | |
| Yelena Maksimova | ... | Natalya - Vasyl's fiancee (as Ye. Maksimova) | |
| Nikolai Nademsky | ... | Ded Semyon (as N. Nademsky) | |
| Ivan Franko | ... | Kulak Belokon (as I. Franko) | |
| Pyotr Masokha | ... | Khoma - son of kulak Belokon (as P. Masokha) | |
| Vladimir Mikhaylov | ... | Priest (as V. Mikhaylov) | |
| Pavel Petrik | ... | Young Party-Cell Leader (as P. Petrik) | |
| P. Umanets | ... | Chairman of the Village Soviet (as Umanets) | |
 |
Ye. Bondina | ... | Farm Girl |
|
|
Luka Lyashenko | ... | Young Kulak (as L. Lyashenko) |
Dovzhenko's "film poem" style brings to life the collective experience of life for the Ukranian proles, examining natural cycles through his epic montage. He explores life, death, violence, sex, and other issues as they relate to the collective farms. An idealistic vision of the possibilities of Communism made just before Stalinism set in and the Kulack class was liquidated, "Earth" was viewed negatively by many Soviets because of its exploration of death and other dark issues that come with revolution. Written by Jeff Walker <star5780@ix.netcom.com>
This silent film focuses on a small Ukranian village in 1930. It's about small independent farmers working against a "collective"--a state run collaboration of farms. The film (kind of) is about their conflict.
To be truthful there isn't much of a story--that's secondary in this film. The imagery is what counts and it's truly stunning. It contains some of the most gorgeous footage I've ever seen of nature and, in images, clearly documents man's love of the earth. There are characters and a minor story but they're actually pretty bad--the story is painfully slow, the acting horrendous (one very good-looking actor just stands there with a big beautiful grin on his face no matter WHAT the scene is about) and has some of the most laughable dialogue cards I've ever seen (I'm assuming it doesn't translate well from Russian). Also the "restored" print looks pretty terrible. Still the images are incredible and there's a beautiful music score going along with it.
Historically and visually this is a landmark of world cinema--a definite must-see. Try to see the unedited prints which contain surprising (for 1930) female nudity.