This review is devoted to the French film “Ménilmontant”. It is truly a pearl of avant-garde culture, which will definitely touch your heart with its sensible characters’ stories. Directed by Dmitri Kirsnoff (Russian by his origin) in 1926, this is a beautiful example of the combination of pure French romanticism and sensitiveness with Russian rapidness and assertiveness. One can find “Ménilmontant” just another story about a broken-hearted girl, but if one looks deeper into her story, tries to see the situation with her eyes, it appears, that her character has some kind of evolution. This evolution ends up with the girl’s sincere belief in the dignity of people. The main idea of the film is that it is only they, who can really make us hold on even in the darkest times, but it is important to be assured, that these people are sincere in their intentions.
“Ménilmontant” is a comedy-drama short silent film, written and directed by the immigrated in France Estonia filmmaker named Dmitri Kirsnoff, who started his carrier by making films on his own, without any help of filmmaking companies. This film, as well as the other ones, directed by him, is relatively inexpensive, however uses modern technologies and other novelties of their kind.
The story of this state of the art tells us about wonderings of the young girl, who, despite troubles, which happened to her family, tries to survive together with her elder sister. The two merely live in a small town and make buckets in order to earn some life. On the one scene they are pictured happily make-upping, smiling and enjoying spending time with each other. However, the whole plot in a second makes an unexpected twist, when on the scene appears the young man. Kind and beautiful, he in a flash became the two girls’ beloved. From this moment, we can observe two absolutely contrast to each other storylines: one of the young sister and one - of the elder.
Besides, an important role here belongs to the music. It changes so rapidly and unexpectedly, that one can without words and emotions of the actors clearly understand their feelings and so intentions. It is depressive during the most part of the movie which clearly depicts the main mood of the girl’s tragedy. It is enough to see the actress Siberian moving tears from her face with elbows, while her hands are busy with a newborn who has been left without a father. Or take the scene of reunion of sisters - only two close-ups and half a minute, which without words tell all of their distressful life. One can in good conscience forget how to talk about the movie, and therefore to learn to watch it. “Music for sound films is an integral part of an unchanging soundtrack, attached unambiguously to the film.” (Marks 6).
One of the most culminating “Ménilmontant”’s scenes is young lady’s first date with her beloved. The background is peaceful, calming, but the sound which is playing gives a feeling of something suspicious. It looks like, that this feeling is not familiar to her and she does not know what to do with it. The viewer is able to observe the heroine’s confusion which is expressed via sudden change of the tune on the more alerting, distressing and nervous. This subconsciously induces the viewer to thoughts about the purity of intentions of a young man, which is supported by his excessive behavior towards the girl. As long as actors are mute, music plays the role of the ‘translator’ of characters’ emotions. (“Ménilmontant”)
In the meantime, let us draw some attention to the very genre of this masterpiece. Silent films did not possess HDTV quality and extensive technical capabilities. However, they cannot be called primitive. Expressive actors’ acting and ingenuity of Directors made the era of silent movies kind of a unique period. Silent movies became the platform for creating sound films and the further development of cinema art. The absence of speech in the films became a catalyst for finding new opportunities for the following evolution of the whole genre of the cinematography. This restriction ensures that there is a "dumb" school of presenting a complicated plot by montaging tools, subtitles appeared, and a peculiar kind of pantomime has become the basis of actors’ play ("Silent Era : The Silent Film Website").
Kirsanov deserves special attention to his personality for he definitely can be called a self-made genius. While starting his career, the young director was not supported by any company, however he managed to make his creations one of a kind. Kirsanov uses different techniques to achieve enhancement of dramatic action: the imposition of frames, camera movement, flows, etc. As with most works of him, this one is characterized by subtle transmission of mood of common scenes and each character separately as well, using the state of nature or objects ("Dimitri Kirsanoff").
Though actors are “numb”, they appeared to be more “talkative”, than those from the majority of modern films. These main characters’ act creates the entire story on the scene by their exceptional emotions. It is only by such artistic methods that the viewer can feel the characters’ emotional statement and understand the tragedy of this story.
Moreover, what is really necessary in a kind of film like this is, apparently, actors’ play. However, the whole effect could not be achieved without them located in acting in a correct way. Every single movement is to be previously planned and designed. In theatres and silent films it is especially important to enrich every movement with implications and meaning. With every change of his position, every single movement, an actor literally creates this small world that unfolds on a stage or a film camera. “The human being is all-important in the theatre. The drama on the screen can exist without actors. A banging door a leaf in the wind, waves beating the shore can heighten the dramatic effect. Some film masterpieces use man only as an accessory like an extra, or in counterpoint to nature, which is the true leading character” (Bordwell and Thompson 115).
Among the number of trilling and fascinating moments of “Ménilmontant” there is one more eye-catching scene. After the attempt of committing the suicide to herself, the young sister with the baby in her arms wonders around the seaside park. Moments later the camera catches the young man sitting on the bench who is actually this baby’s father. One can admit some kind of contrast there: before the girl in mourning mood sat, her formal fiancé has been showed stand upping and smiling. The boy has no reason for being upset or disgraced – his life has not changed, while the young lady’s is completely broken and lived for nothing. Though a moment later the old man shares his last food with her. The girl is smiling and crying at the same time. Once again, she gradually starts to believe in human sincerity (“Ménilmontant”).
The masterpiece of the French avant-garde, shot by the Russian emigrant Kirsanov, begins and ends mounting a bloody mess. However, it remains one of the most lyrical films in the world. In the framework of banal stories told without a single intertitle, Director-writer-cameraman-editor Kirsanov invents a poetic cinema.
Works Cited
Bordwell, David, and Kristin Thompson. Film History: An Introduction. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1993. Print.
"Dimitri Kirsanoff". IMDb. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
Marks, Martin Miller. Music And The Silent Film: Contexts And Case Studies, 1895-1924.
Oxford University Press, 1997. Print.
“Ménilmontant”. France: Dimitri Kirsanoff, 1926. film.
"Silent Era : The Silent Film Website". Silentera.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
