Fred Zinnemann made his directing debut on this agit-prop/proletariat film (shot in 1934, the title translates to NETS), funded by Mexico’s newly installed left-wing government. With strong whiffs of Eisenstein’s POTEMKIN/’25 in its working-class/injustice premise: Power to the people! (At least: Power to the fishermen!); it was shot on a silent-era, hand-cranked Akeley camera by famed still photographer Paul Strand (all sound dubbed in ‘post’) and is too artfully composed by half for its own good. Zinnemann wanted more movement & spontaneity. But Strand held to a handsome, even chic, distressed-fashion look*: strikingly fit, blemish-free peasants (non-pros, the lead a university student, the rest Mexican Men’s Health worthy) who stop fighting amongst themselves to join as one in the face of twin tragedies (including a child dying for the price of medicine), rising against capitalistic boat-owners, overlords & the town’s monopolistic fish trader; all responsible for near-starvation wages. Beautifully restored, including a soundtrack with Silvestre Revueltas’ notable score, at an hour, it’s as lean as its Party Line protagonists.
DOUBLE-BILL: Also restored, BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN is now aspirational and entertaining; far easier to see how it conquered the cinematic world, though unlikely to ever regain a Top Ten World Cinema position. OR: *WHITE MANE/’53, Albert Lamorisse’s superb followup to his much-loved THE RED BALLOON/’52, offering similar (unintentional?) distressed-fashion chic with its child protagonist’s untamed coif & worn, sun-baked outfit. OR: ARAYA/’59, Margot Benacerraf’s nearly forgotten documentary on the Araya Venezuelan salt marshes. (All three covered below.)
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