As one of the most significant events of the year there comes to my mind Frankfurt and Dsiga Vertoff at a matinée explaining the theory of the Kinoki (the kino-eye) of which he is the inventor, not in words alone, but with the help of clear and beautiful examples of his work amply demonstrating his ability to translate his theory into practice.
Kinoki is unposed, unplayed film, independent both of actors and of studio. Vertoff watches human expressiveness, gestures, incidents, and when he succeeds in surprising these at their characteristic moments he registers them and produces results that are extraordinarily valuable.
But this is not enough for him. In his last film, THE MAN WITH THE MOVIE-CAMERA, he shows us the ropes of artistic creation. When he has aroused our emotions and carried us away with a powerful scene, he shows the operator filming the scene or the montress joining the strips of film.
One might imagine that his films can be no more than intelligent reporting. They are nothing of the kind. They are complete creations.
Jean Lenauer, Close-Up, No. 6, December 1929