The Man with a Movie Camera

This was one of the most bizarre movies I have ever seen. After it ended, I asked myself, "What the heck did I just watch?" I thought for the first few minutes that I was watching the opening credits of the film due to the fast transitions between clips. Well, it turned out that was how Vertov intended the movie to be viewed by his audience. It was definitely a surprise to me and the more I thought about it, I realized the title didn't have a hidden meaning behind it. It literally consists of a bunch of random events strung together. So, one must assume a man must have gone around and shot these scenes with his movie camera.

Despite the fact that there wasn't a plot, Dziga Vertov still succeeded with this movie for two reasons. The first being that Vertov used this film to express that cinema is an art form. His use of filming random events is almost poetic in a way. People today are always on the go and don't have time to appreciate the things that are around them on a day to day basis. While the clips of the hustle and bustle of the cities and people living their daily lives may seem boring or pointless, I feel like Vertov's reason behind it was to make us take a step back and appreciate life more. His vision for stringing scenes together is very unique and each one serves a purpose.

The second reason this film is a success is due the unique camera angles and locations that were used when jumping from scene to scene. It begs the question, how did the man with the movie camera get access to such places? I mean, there are some scenes where it looks like the clips were shot on tops of buildings, inside other people's cars, and in offices where people are working. He also shot people attending a funeral and a woman giving child birth. Even though I had no idea what was going on in the film, I kept wondering to myself, who is this guy and how does he have access to all of these places?

Overall, this movie was definitely a unique experience to watch. It was the first time I have watched a film without a plot. I didn't think that was possible, but Dziga Vertov proved me wrong. The art of the cinematography is the star in this film.