Old and New (1929)

Sergei Eisenstein’s Old and New

Eisenstein’s Old and New shift away from his films about a collective mass of people making decision. Rather, it focuses on a peasant woman named Marfa who transforms the individualistic rural farmers into a collective communal farm community.

At the beginning of the film, Marfa recognizes that the individual privatization of farmland is not working, as all the farmers and peasants are starving and cannot grow crops or bring up cattle. After facing a lot of resistance from the rural agrarian community, they are able to pull together to buy machine that converts milk into butter. Then, with the money they use to sell butter, they are able to buy a bull so that they can breed and raise more cattle. Soon they are able to purchase a tractor to more effectively gather crops. Eventually, this cooperative becomes and effective form of agriculture with the number of members growing. 

However, there are those throughout the community that resist these changing times. Some do not want to give up their private land over and some do not trust the modern machinery. These members are treated by Eisenstein as old relics of the past, just as he portrays the deeply Catholic and religious sects as such. Eisenstein demonstrates that the advancement of society only comes with cooperative action and communal sharing. With these ideals, members of the community can utilize industrialization for their own community benefits. 

Eisenstein contrasts the ‘old’ with the ‘new’ continuously throughout the story. We see in the beginning the old way of doing things. The land is divided and is being cultivated by ancient methods. These opening images are contrasted greatly with the technical innovations brought out by the cooperative like the milk separator, conveyer belts, and tractors. 

Camerawork:

Close-up: One of the best close-ups of the film comes when Marfa needs assistance from one of her neighbors. As she comes upon them, Eisenstein shows close-up shots of places on the man’s body with a lot of excess fat. The fatness of the man contrasted with earlier scenes of people starving indicate that the system Marfa currently is in is not working. While people are starving trying to produce crops and raise cattle, others who are hoarding all for themselves are getting nice and plump. Eisenstein uses this close-up to single out the unfairness in the old way of doing things.

Intellectual montage: In the scene in which religious members are following the priest down the road, we see them praying and calling out to God to help them with their farmlands. Eisenstein views these methods as archaic, as he demonstrates with his intellectual montage. We see images of the community praying juxtaposed with images of sheep. Eisenstein seems to be suggesting that these religious followers are merely sheep being led astray. 

Best Shot:

The best shot in the film is that of a humorous note, whether that was the intention or not. Eisenstein uses a montage in order to illustrate a bull and a cow consummating their ‘marriage’. This is to illustrate the progress the community has made. He shows a bull rushing toward a female cow. The female cow’s legs are shaking. We then see quick edits of explosions and water rapids.