Man Is Not a Bird (1965)

 Dusan Makavejev's "Man Is Not a Bird"


Somewhat of a strange artifact, Dusan Makavejev's 1965 Yugoslavian film "Man Is Not a Bird" mixes the simplistic starkness of neo-realism with some stylistic flair borrowed from Nouvelle Vague. It centers on an engineer who comes into a small town to re-industrialize its mining plants. While there, he falls in love with a much younger woman. Although there is a romantic story at the forefront, the film's real themes spring from the Communist town and its restless machinations. 

One of the key insights to understanding the film stems from a side storyline involving a hypnotist who comes to town for the purposes of entertainment. At the film's end, he narrates, "Hypnosis is not ordinary sleep but an induced artificial sleep. For a man asleep can do nothing, but under hypnosis he can carry out the most complex commands, including murder." His voiceover is matched with images of the town's industrial plants and factories, as large plumes of smoke emerge from them.

The occupants of the small town are trapped in a hypnotic malaise created by the industry that surround them. Their meaningless efforts to industrialize themselves only creates a stagnant atmosphere in which the only resolve in acting out in various ways. Both the array of side characters along with our central couple actively illustrate the behavioral rebellions that stem from their fog of mundanity brought about by oppressive labor and Communist restrictions to liberty.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Oliver Twist (1948)

Image
  David Lean's "Oliver Twist" After the success of David Lean's 1946 adaption of Charles Dickens classic 1861 novel " Great Expectations ," Lean decided once again to adapt a classic work by Dickens. This time, his focus was on the 1837 novel, " Oliver Twist ." His 1948 adaptation once again proved that Lean was able to take Dicken's classic work and visualize it for the big screen.  Centering on a young orphan boy in 19th century England, " Oliver Twist " details the boy's plight as he is hired out as an apprentice after asking a cruel taskmaster for a second serving of gruel. Falling in with a street urchin and a criminal, the boy's fate between wealth and poverty hangs in the balance when his kindly benefactor decides to take him in. From all of the Charles Dickens adaptations I have seen, I have come to the conclusion that I am not a fan of Dicken's work. I know, blasphemous. From " Great Expectations " to ...
Read more

Humanity and Paper Balloons (1937)

Image
  Sadao Yamanaka's "Humanity and Paper Balloons" In his very brief career, Japanese director Sadao Yamanaka only made 3 feature length films. All 3 made an enormous impact in Japanese culture and are still praised by the film community today. The final of the 3 films he made, 1937's " Humanity and Paper Balloons " is perhaps the very reason his life was cut short. At the time of the film's release, the Japanese government had already invaded China and was exponentially building its militia. They felt as though Yamanka's film damaged the nationalistic and militaristic viewpoint they were trying to instill in the country. Because they were so displeased with the 'message' of the film, they sent Yamanaka to the Chinese front, where he died a year later in 1938. The reason for this retribution by the Japanese government was because the film focuses on a group of characters who actively display the worst attributes of Japanese society. Yamanaka...
Read more

Ivan's Childhood (1962)

Image
  Andrei Tarkovsky's "Ivan's Childhood" In watching " Ivan's Childhood ," I am able to finally begin the filmography of my all-time favorite filmmaker, Andrei Tarkovsky. It's clear that this is an amateur work from the great master, given that it's his debut feature. However, many of the styles and choices he will come to be known for creep up in " Ivan's Childhood ," and marks a dramatic shift in Soviet cinema. One of the key ways it marks a shift in Soviet cinema is Tarkovsky's concentration on nature. The Stalinist viewpoint that had indoctrinated itself into the nation's standards for cinema was that nature was to be depicted as a means to serve human agency. During the Khrushchev thaw at the time of the film's release, many filmmakers began to operate outside the scope of the previous regime's restrictions. Tarkovsky chose to depict nature as being an omniscient observer of human violence and suffering.  Remarka...
Read more