Making Films In Latvia - First Motion

Instead of promised atmospheric traditional wedding they found a rich elderly groom
with golden teeth, crying bride and tables placed under the rubber shelters. So they
persuaded parents of another couple to allow their children to get married soon
although they were supposed to do it only after bride would graduate from
university. 28
44
Editing was done by director and script writer. 29 Final version of the film
corresponded to initial conception and had thirteen parts. It was screened at the film
theatre „Rossija” during USSR anniversary celebration, at Leipzig film festival and
served as Brauns graduation project for Highest Courses of Film Directing. After a
while USSR Film Committee requested to re-edit the film. Brauns had to cut out De
Gaulle’s visit to Moscow, earth quake in Tashkent, some too naturalistic episodes of
human life etc. 30 Documents available at Riga Film Museum’s archive testify that
length of the original version was 3495 meters. After first re-editing it got shortened
to 3155 meters. Length stated in the official film rent and screening permission issued
by USSR Film Committee on the 13 th of March 1968 was 2033 meters. Film
Committee was not eager to give information about the distribution of the film and
director never got a chance to learn also about the ways of his first short films and
fiction feature “Motorcycle summer” (1975). 31
Frank, Brauns, Vertov
Herz Frank (1926) wrote that Uldis Brauns (1932) introduced Vertov’s poetics
into Latvian non-fiction cinema through his approach towards capturing reality.
Unexpected casual details make his films alive and function in recreation of facts into
characters. 32 Brauns assured that back in sixties he knew about Vertov’s personality
and films, but never had a real chance to see them. 33 Although, Frank´s own
contribution to introduction of Vertov´s esthetics in “235 000 000” 34 can´t be
underestimated. In published excerpts of Vertov’s diaries, texts, schematic drawings
and creative ideas (that also served as a base of the “Combat manual”) several aspects
28
Author´s interview with Laima Žurgina, 16.02.2011, unpublished
29
Франк, Герц, «Карта Птолемeя», p. 43
30
Author´s interview with Uldis Brauns, unpublished
31
„Motociklu vasara” (1975)
32
Франк, Герц, «Карта Птолемeя», p. 43
33 Author´s interview with Uldis Brauns, unpublished
34 Starting from the level of basic film´s conception.