After watching “Under The Tree”, Neil and I sought better seats for the next film. We purchased tickets to “Revue” in advance, for that very reason. The film was a documentary that strung together many reels of Russian newscasts primarily from the 1950s and 1960s. The films recorded the Leninist movement towards Soviet Communism and its disdain for Capitalism. The audience laughed at quite few clips; a result of its absurdity. However, I have gained a new respect for those that suffered to build their “Motherland”.

Here’s is VIFF’s description of the film:

Revue
Predstavlenye
[REVUE]
Nonfiction Features of 2008
(Finalnd, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, 2008, 82 mins)
DigiBeta
North American Premiere
Directed By: Sergei Loznitsa
Selected Filmography:

* (1906) Blockade

PRODS: Vyacheslav Telnov, Heino Deckert
ED: Sergei Loznitsa

Director Sergei Loznitsa (Blockade VIFF 06) again employs archival material and newsreel footage to entirely new effect, namely reworking propaganda from the golden age of the Soviet Union. Happy peasants, shining with good health and love for Mother Russia, sing and dance and issue warnings about the evils of Western rock music.

In the style of a modern mashup, Loznitsa has pastiched his way into an entirely new depiction of jingoism. Little girls in starched white pinafores, carrying flowers and cheerful teenagers dancing healthy traditional dances are merely the beginning. While some of the material may seem quaint (to wit: a puppet show warning young Russians about Western-style decadence), given the state of the US propaganda machine, currently running at full-tilt boogie woogie, Revue packs a surprising punch. Loznitsa brings a clarity of vision and depth of intelligence to shaping this material, so that underneath the cheery folk songs and happy dances lurks a lingering malignancy. The notion that we some day look at our cultural products and see the same machinery at work is never explicitly stated, but then it doesn’t need to be. Winner of the Documentary Prize at the Krakow Film Fest 2008.

“The daily life of ordinary Soviet citizens during the 1950s and 60s–from collective farming to Young Pioneer parades–is explored in fascinating fashion… Revue is a commentary-free zone, allowing material to speak simply for itself.”–Variety