Sat November 22, 2014
A Nail in the Boot (Mikhail Kalatozov; USSR, 1930/1932)
SEE EVENT DETAILS
at PFA Theater
(see times)
Imported Print!
(Gvozd’ v sapoge/Lursmani cheqmashi)
Ostensibly an allegory on Soviet industry, as symbolized by the poor quality of a nail in a soldier’s boot that leads to the defeat of a military unit on maneuvers, this film was banned, its symbolism lost on literal-minded authorities who felt it reflected poorly on the military preparedness of the Red Army. But perhaps more threatening than its subject was its style: “The film came at a time when other directors had already begun to feel the chill of criticism for abstract films” (Alexander Birkos, Soviet Cinema). Indeed, the camera offers nothing less than a study of fate, as personified by the hapless wearer of the eponymous boot. In the midst of the thrusts and explosions of war (cinematically rendered), here he is, as in a dream, on a lone journey across fields and mountains with only one good shoe, until he comes to an interminable, impassible barbed-wire fence lined with jangling tin cans (we can “hear” them in the silence). More Kafkaesque is his court martial, a “show trial” in every sense as a marching band performs in the courtroom. This extraordinarily beautiful film led to a seven-year period of inactivity for Kalatozov.
Written by Leonid Perelman. Photographed by Shalva Apaqidze. With Aleqsandre Jaliashvili, Siko Palavandishvili, Akaki Khorava, Arkadi Khintibidze.
(54 mins, Silent with Russian intertitles and simultaneous English translation, B&W, 35mm, From Gosfilmofond)
Followed by:
Hurricane Kalatozov
Patrick Cazals (France, 2010)
A documentary on the life and work of Mikhail Kalatozov made by Patrick Cazals, who has directed a series of documentaries on Tbilisi-born filmmakers, including Sergei Paradjanov and Rouben Mamoulian.
(74 mins, In Georgian and French with English subtitles, Color, DCP, from the artist)
Total running time: 128 mins
show less
(Gvozd’ v sapoge/Lursmani cheqmashi)
Ostensibly an allegory on Soviet industry, as symbolized by the poor quality of a nail in a soldier’s boot that leads to the defeat of a military unit on maneuvers, this film was banned, its symbolism lost on literal-minded authorities who felt it reflected poorly on the military preparedness of the Red Army. But perhaps more threatening than its subject was its style: “The film came at a time when other directors had already begun to feel the chill of criticism for abstract films” (Alexander Birkos, Soviet Cinema). Indeed, the camera offers nothing less than a study of fate, as personified by the hapless wearer of the eponymous boot. In the midst of the thrusts and explosions of war (cinematically rendered), here he is, as in a dream, on a lone journey across fields and mountains with only one good shoe, until he comes to an interminable, impassible barbed-wire fence lined with jangling tin cans (we can “hear” them in the silence). More Kafkaesque is his court martial, a “show trial” in every sense as a marching band performs in the courtroom. This extraordinarily beautiful film led to a seven-year period of inactivity for Kalatozov.
Written by Leonid Perelman. Photographed by Shalva Apaqidze. With Aleqsandre Jaliashvili, Siko Palavandishvili, Akaki Khorava, Arkadi Khintibidze.
(54 mins, Silent with Russian intertitles and simultaneous English translation, B&W, 35mm, From Gosfilmofond)
Followed by:
Hurricane Kalatozov
Patrick Cazals (France, 2010)
A documentary on the life and work of Mikhail Kalatozov made by Patrick Cazals, who has directed a series of documentaries on Tbilisi-born filmmakers, including Sergei Paradjanov and Rouben Mamoulian.
(74 mins, In Georgian and French with English subtitles, Color, DCP, from the artist)
Total running time: 128 mins
Imported Print!
(Gvozd’ v sapoge/Lursmani cheqmashi)
Ostensibly an allegory on Soviet industry, as symbolized by the poor quality of a nail in a soldier’s boot that leads to the defeat of a military unit on maneuvers, this film was banned, its symbolism lost on literal-minded authorities who felt it reflected poorly on the military preparedness of the Red Army. But perhaps more threatening than its subject was its style: “The film came at a time when other directors had already begun to feel the chill of criticism for abstract films” (Alexander Birkos, Soviet Cinema). Indeed, the camera offers nothing less than a study of fate, as personified by the hapless wearer of the eponymous boot. In the midst of the thrusts and explosions of war (cinematically rendered), here he is, as in a dream, on a lone journey across fields and mountains with only one good shoe, until he comes to an interminable, impassible barbed-wire fence lined with jangling tin cans (we can “hear” them in the silence). More Kafkaesque is his court martial, a “show trial” in every sense as a marching band performs in the courtroom. This extraordinarily beautiful film led to a seven-year period of inactivity for Kalatozov.
Written by Leonid Perelman. Photographed by Shalva Apaqidze. With Aleqsandre Jaliashvili, Siko Palavandishvili, Akaki Khorava, Arkadi Khintibidze.
(54 mins, Silent with Russian intertitles and simultaneous English translation, B&W, 35mm, From Gosfilmofond)
Followed by:
Hurricane Kalatozov
Patrick Cazals (France, 2010)
A documentary on the life and work of Mikhail Kalatozov made by Patrick Cazals, who has directed a series of documentaries on Tbilisi-born filmmakers, including Sergei Paradjanov and Rouben Mamoulian.
(74 mins, In Georgian and French with English subtitles, Color, DCP, from the artist)
Total running time: 128 mins
read more
(Gvozd’ v sapoge/Lursmani cheqmashi)
Ostensibly an allegory on Soviet industry, as symbolized by the poor quality of a nail in a soldier’s boot that leads to the defeat of a military unit on maneuvers, this film was banned, its symbolism lost on literal-minded authorities who felt it reflected poorly on the military preparedness of the Red Army. But perhaps more threatening than its subject was its style: “The film came at a time when other directors had already begun to feel the chill of criticism for abstract films” (Alexander Birkos, Soviet Cinema). Indeed, the camera offers nothing less than a study of fate, as personified by the hapless wearer of the eponymous boot. In the midst of the thrusts and explosions of war (cinematically rendered), here he is, as in a dream, on a lone journey across fields and mountains with only one good shoe, until he comes to an interminable, impassible barbed-wire fence lined with jangling tin cans (we can “hear” them in the silence). More Kafkaesque is his court martial, a “show trial” in every sense as a marching band performs in the courtroom. This extraordinarily beautiful film led to a seven-year period of inactivity for Kalatozov.
Written by Leonid Perelman. Photographed by Shalva Apaqidze. With Aleqsandre Jaliashvili, Siko Palavandishvili, Akaki Khorava, Arkadi Khintibidze.
(54 mins, Silent with Russian intertitles and simultaneous English translation, B&W, 35mm, From Gosfilmofond)
Followed by:
Hurricane Kalatozov
Patrick Cazals (France, 2010)
A documentary on the life and work of Mikhail Kalatozov made by Patrick Cazals, who has directed a series of documentaries on Tbilisi-born filmmakers, including Sergei Paradjanov and Rouben Mamoulian.
(74 mins, In Georgian and French with English subtitles, Color, DCP, from the artist)
Total running time: 128 mins
show less
Date/Times:
PFA Theater
2575 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94720
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