Old and New

Старое и новое

Sergei Eisenstein Grigori Aleksandrov, Soviet Union, 1929

120 mins

8 / 10 (162)

Silent Drama

Synopsis

Marpha Lapkina, a horseless peasant unwilling to subject herself to poverty, organizes a dairy artel together with local agronomist and poor men. The workers-patrons help them to get the first tractor, and a little bit later dozens of tractors cultivate the artel land.

MUBI's take

As the great Sergei Eisenstein’s last completed silent film, Old and New cries out for rediscovery. Displaying the montage pioneer’s gift for composition, this epic reworking of the Soviet labour film is a cinematic ode to agrarian collectivization that glimmers with unexpected sexual undertones.