79 primaveras (79 Springs) is an experimental film by Cuban Santiago Álvarez about the Vietnam war. The film builds around the dictator of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh. Alvarez filmed his funeral and equates it with disturbing images, historical documentary, beautiful poetry - slow motion pictures of blooming flowers and dropping bombs. The beauty gets an ironic, shocking twist. The use of music, sound, visuality and writings is disturbing, touching and thought provoking. 79 Springs challenges the viewer to think.
79 Springs could be categorized as a collage film, which for instance Yugoslavian director Dusan Makavejev made. Santiago Alvarez is without a doubt the master of collage cinema, he understands the power of memory and also the power of editing. A lot of things happen at the editing room. The art of editing can very often be seen in documentary films; many of us who watch older documentaries, remember Dziga Vertov's The Man With a Movie Camera. The editing in it is beautiful and enchanting, in 79 Springs the editing is brilliant, but not beautiful or enchanting. It is very disturbing, shocking, fast and amazing. To me the editing was especially the greatest thing in this film, combined with unusual music, sounds and poetic writings.
The sadness of the history of cinema, is of course the realization; how powerless films are. Jean Renoir couldn't stop the WWII and 79 Springs didn't change much, it was over looked and banned. But this doesn't make the film lesser at all, it's just something the film reminds you of. 79 Springs is very thought provoking on many levels, it's beautiful in a way, but also very horrifying. The greatest collage film you will see, one of the greatest documentaries you will see, one of the most disturbing entirety you will see and perhaps the finest editing you will see. 79 Springs is truly great cinema poetry.
