Arsenal /Арсенал/ Alexander Dovzhenko, 1929, 90 min, drama, VO, silent

Made to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, Arsenal focuses on a revolt in 1918 when workers at the Kiev ammunition factory supported the Bolsheviks against Ukrainian Nationalists.

Made to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, Arsenal focuses on a revolt in 1918 when workers at the Kiev ammunition factory supported the Bolsheviks against Ukrainian Nationalists. Arsenal is by no means an out-and-out celebration of revolution. The film questions the conflict’s morality by highlighting the turmoil and suffering that it causes, a tension increased by Alexander Dovzhenko’s startling visuals. Sequences of invigorating speed and motion are contrasted with images of deathly stillness. Starkly lit figures of crying children, legless soldiers and blackened corpses on snow recur throughout the film. While the fast-paced cutting and unusual camera angles suggest the excitement of revolution, they also convey the chaos it leaves in its wake.

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