Earth + Live piano concert Kevin Toma
Epic Soviet classic about the struggle that occurs in rural Ukraine in the 1930s between independent peasants and supporters of the emerging collectivization.
The story of EARTH spans generations. It begins with the death of a grandfather, leading to tumultuous times for his son Opanas and grandson Vasily. As wealthy landowners appropriate peasants' land, Vasily, influenced by Stalin’s communist ideas as laid out in the first five-year plan, starts a youth movement for the formation of collectivized agriculture in Ukraine.
EARTH is the final part of a loosely connected Ukraine trilogy that Dovzhenko made in the late 1920s and is often mentioned in lists of the best films ever. It is the ultimate paean to nature, the land and those who toil on it. The film is teeming with grand images, such as opening shots of a vast sky and rolling fields of sunflowers and apples, as well as a spectacular array of complex editing techniques. The Soviet Union, that sponsored the film in hopes of an ideological manifesto, was misled: because of its sheer poetic force, EARTH ultimately transcended propaganda.
Film critic and composer Kevin Toma will accompany the film with a live piano concert.