Turksib (1929)

Director: Victor A. Turin
Writers: Yakov Aron, Aleksandr Macheret

Resisting the character-driven narrative adhered to by the rest of the world's filmmakers, Victor Turin formulated a grand, elemental drama centered around the struggle for survival in Asia, from the arid plains of Turkestan to the icy Siberian mountains.

Stirring, with countless lovely images: the camels cresting the dune casting spectacular shadows, the sand sliding down the slope after the simoon, the incredible faces of the Asiatic peasants, as they stoically wait for their water. And who cares about the political content of any of these early Soviet films? Let's not be anachronistic. Remember that they were intended to educate a vastly disparate population, and to inspire them. To complain about the propaganda is similar to watching horror films and then objecting to their "scare tactics", even if they are skillfully done.

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