Old And New

Old and New(also known as The General Line) is a gripping 1929 silent movie, directed by Sergei Eisenstein - a reputed name in Soviet cinema. Featuring actors Marfa Lapkina, M. Ivanin, and Konstantin Vasilyev, the film is a profound examination of the collision between the agrarian past and emergent mechanized future, amidst the backdrop of Stalin's collectivization plan in the Soviet Union.

The film introduces Marfa Lapkina as an audacious peasant woman who emerges as a principal character, lending an extraordinary narrative charm to the motion picture. Struggling with antiquated farming practices in a rural setting, Marfa exhibits a benevolent ambition to elevate her community's condition by introducing cooperative farming and mechanization, challenging the quintessential farming ideologies.

The noted actor M. Ivanin portrays a character contrasting Marfa, who clings to the traditional farming methods with rigorous conviction – a portrayal that manifests the stark conflict between the old and the new. Konstantin Vasilyev, though in a less central role, effortlessly fleshes out the struggles and reticence of a society on the brink of monumental change.

The plot evolves alongside Marfa’s journey - from convincing her community to join a collective farm to her endeavors of procuring a cream separator, signifying the progressive advancement towards modernization. Her journey, imbued with challenges and minor victories, serves as an emblem of the transformative era echoing through Soviet's rural and agrarian landscapes.

Eisenstein, known for his innovative and impactful montage techniques, employs them to significant effect in Old and New. The dialectic approach adopted in the film dramatizes the struggle and transition from the outmoded, individualistic, and inefficient farming techniques to the introduction and acceptance of cooperative farming and mechanization.

Distinct montages of struggle, hardship, and moments of reprieve carry forward the film's narrative, portraying the harsh realities of traditional methods and the subsequent relief that machinery brings. Notably, the dichotomous showcase of the difficulties faced with old methodologies juxtaposed against the vistas of relief and liberation upon modern mechanization sets a compelling narrative dynamic.

Old and New examines the overarching theme of mechanization not merely as an impersonal, industrial force but as a potent agent of liberation. The 'separator' (cream machine) becomes a recurrent symbol of progress and emancipation, becoming near-anthropomorphic in its depiction. The film elevates the machine from an inanimate object to an almost vital character that encapsulates the dreams, hopes, and revolutionary spirit of the time.

An exceptional cinematographic quality enhances the film. The overall cinematography often verges on the border of surrealistic expression, adding allure and intensity to the narrative journey. Eisenstein's camera work captures the bleakness of the endless fields, the harshness of labor, the joy of collective endeavor, and the overwhelming power of technology – often through extreme and unexpected angles.

The characters are impeccably sincere. From the spirited Marfa, who embodies the spirit of reform, the resistant M. Ivanin, who represents the vestiges of tradition, to the larger than life depiction of the 'separator,' everyone adds to the vivacious exchange of ideology, resistance, acceptance, and progress.

Eisenstein’s Old and New is a potent blend of political ideology, human struggle, and boundless ambition, characterized by remarkably vivid, detailed, and energetic style of storytelling. As this film is a silent one, its visual storytelling prowess is of paramount importance, rendered beautifully through Eisenstein's signature montage style creating a resonating impact.

In conclusion, Old and New is a cinematic exploration of a pivotal transition in the Soviet society in the late 1920s. As a silent movie, it expresses its narrative through images that are both profoundly personal and significantly universal. The representation of Marfa's individual quest becomes a mirror reflecting the transformative journey of a whole society, giving this classically silent movie, a vociferously modern appeal.