Man with the Movie Camera

Without the continuity of a story Man with a Movie Camera has just about everything else. The iconic shots the film captures are displayed with the efficiency of an experienced artist while at the same time harboring a sense of naive confidence a child might have who just discovered a matchbox. The film includes seemingly accurate depictions of daily life in Russia juxtaposed with scenes that obviously utilize special effects, the contrast puts into question the films label as a documentary film as its ties to any sense of realism seem to be shaky in the face of staged shoots and clips with an almost mythical tone invoked through the special effects used. As pointed by Nochimson in her book “World on Film” there is something special about the films way of displaying perception through the power of a camera, it is shown throughout the movie that no perspective is forbidden as we follow the cameraman himself humorously traversing perilous situations such as walking through traffic or crossing a dangerously active river (P.82). Another way in which the film challenges the norm of even what would be considered a loosely defined documentary is the interactions with the subjects being filmed, in the film we are lead into deeply personal situations such as man being treated for a grave injury or a women at a grave site (Nochimson,2010,P.84). The neurotypical role of a camera as a means to capture something without the people themselves interacting with the source of view is defiantly shattered in this movie. Man with a Movie Camera in my opinion is shown to be just what its title shows it to be a man who’s only role is to use the camera to capture what is real and what is not with a freedom of boundaries never before known by people unbeknownst to the technology.