Que Viva Mexico!

by Sergei Eisenstein

En la mayoría de las personas, México causa una impresión maravillosa. Creo que esto se debe a que el país, con todas sus regiones, pareciera acabado de surgir de las aguas de los dos océanos que lo bañan; como si estuviera en ‘proceso de formación’; en ese especial estado dinámico que oponemos al concepto estático de ‘vida cotidiana’....

93 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1932

About the author

Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein was a Soviet film director and film theorist, a pioneer in the theory and practice of montage. He is noted in particular for his silent films Strike (1925), Battleship Potemkin (1925) and October (1928), as well as the historical epics Alexander Nevsky (1938) and Ivan the Terrible (1944, 1958). In its 2012 decennial poll, the magazine Sight & Sound named his Battleship Potemkin the 11th greatest movie of all time.

Eisenstein was among the earliest film theorists. He believed that editing could be used for more than just expounding a scene or moment, through a "linkage" of related images. He developed what he called "methods of montage":
1) Metric
2) Rhythmic
3) Tonal
4) Overtonal
5) Intellectual

Eisenstein's articles and books—particularly Film Form and The Film Sense—explain the significance of montage in detail. His writings and films have continued to have a major impact on subsequent filmmakers.

Reviews

[Göksal Caner Malatya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sovyet sinemasının dev ismi Eisenstein'ın bu yarım kalmış projesi, Meksika tarihini ve devrimini diyalektik kurgu anlayışıyla peliküle dökme girişimidir. Eser, Aztek kökenlerinden İspanyol sömürgeciliğine, feodal toprak ağalarının zulmünden köylülerin devrimci isyanına uzanan süreci görsel bir senfoni olarak sunar. Sanatın, sınıf mücadelesinin estetik bir silahı olarak nasıl kullanılabileceğini gösterir. "Biçimsel" olduğu kadar, tarihsel materyalist bir sinema teorisinin de pratik uygulamasıdır.