I've seen a few documentaries that try to tell the complex story of the USSR's collapse, and many of which tend to be quite emotional and look at the situation from the perspective of everyday people. Though I don't think I've seen a documentary which handles this story through an artistic lens. Looking at the situation as a painter, a photographer, a person capable of telling the story without actually saying anything at all. Purely through the visuals alone. These tend to be the most impactful styles of filmmaking, raw and straight to the point. So I was very interested in Chantal Akerman's "From the East" film, released in the early 90s just after the Soviet Union had collapsed and Eastern Europe, alongside Russia, were going through some of the toughest economic times. A total shift in ideology, often referred to as shock therapy capitalism. Where nothing is planned, and the change comes without structure.
Imagine your reliance on the government entirely, the reliance on your nearby factory job to provide food for yourself and family. The factory machines turn off for the final time, you have no savings as savings were barely a thing. You have no investments as there were no things to invest in. You no longer have a job and more and more businesses which relied on the government are closing every day. Capitalism is here, but there is no work to take up. At the same time, western brands are appearing, telling you of all the great things you now supposedly need and must consume with the money you don't have. Coupons are becoming more and more worthless as people trade up both coupons and personal belongings for anything they possibly can that could be useful. There isn't just a collapse of government structure, it's a total collapse of everything you've ever known. Akerman captures this atmosphere perfectly. Direct. Raw. And rather horrifying to even comprehend, let alone imagine living.
The film showcasing various forms of life within the former USSR, the ways in which people are going about their lives. The young relatively careless and unknowing in what has begun. Assuming life is nothing more than rock and roll and partying. The older populations sitting quietly looking into nothing, a thousand-yard stare. Old women carrying bags of potatoes and waiting for a ride, their farm yield now their livelihoods; no longer capable of retiring but forced back into a harsh life of manual labour. A similar outcome to that of before the Soviet era, in which those in remote areas purely relied on whatever food they could produce. back to that struggle. The camera fixed most of the time, stood still as a silent observer of such scenarios. The film itself shot on film stock with harshness and grain to it that only makes things look a bit more depressing and grim. A nice touch, but one I think wasn't intentional given the period in which film was still the dominant format. In a way the film showing how life goes on, how people adapt and their surroundings shift. But there's definitely uncertainty felt within the people that do enter the frame.
I think the film paints an interesting picture to those who didn't have much awareness of the region prior to its systematic collapse. And in many ways I think it ended up being quite negative due to people's perception of how the USSR functioned and how people really lived. The worst years being the collapse, the mass poverty and the bread lines. Something that wasn't really present beforehand. Another tool to be used as propaganda purposes as it could be compared to communism's inevitable downfall. Though this definitely wasn't the case with Akerman's film, she clearly just captured life as it was. This being more a personal observation of mine, connecting what I have personally seen in this region and how even I perceived it before I really knew much more about it. It's interesting to see and reflect on it all with more awareness, to see the humanity in the people that were considered our greatest enemies. To see who we were really on the brink of nuclear destruction with: elderly women. Children. Everyday workers that just wanted to put food on the table. Akerman's slow cinematography tells this story. Panning shots from a moving bus that show people roaming around the street. Still shots of farmers. People going about their everyday activities as they wait for public transport.
Ultimately this is why such films are so powerful. Such strong reminders of how life really is, even for those on the other side. Whether they're distant in culture or ideology. In the end we all tend to want the most basic things, and it all comes to just living normal lives. Trying to get by with our loved ones. Yet somehow still pawns to that of the great hand that claims to feed, instead vampiric and draining us for their own personal gain.