Walking the Streets of Moscow (1964) is a classic Russian film that has been hailed as one of the greatest films of the Soviet era. Directed by Georgiy Daneliya, the film is a romantic comedy that explores the lives of two young strangers who meet on the streets of Moscow and embark on a witty and cynical journey through the city. While the film was created in the Soviet Union, it has often been compared to the French New Wave movement of the 1960s. In this article, we will explore why Walking the Streets of Moscow feels like a Nouvelle Vague film.
Fresh and Energetic
The French New Wave was a movement of young filmmakers who emerged in the 1960s and sought to break away from traditional cinematic conventions. Countless great auteurs were part of this movement, including Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, Eric Rohmer, Jacques Rivette, Louis Malle, Alain Resnais, Agnes Varda and Jacques Demy. These filmmakers were inspired by a range of different influences, including Italian Neorealism, American film noir and French surrealism. They embraced unconventional characters and storylines, innovative editing techniques, and a free-wheeling, improvisational approach to filmmaking. These films were often low-budget, independent productions shot on the streets of Paris and other French cities.
Walking the Streets of Moscow exhibits several hallmarks of the Nouvelle Vague style. One of the most striking similarities between the two is their focus on the lives of ordinary people. Both the French New Wave and Walking the Streets of Moscow explore the experiences of everyday individuals as they navigate the world around them. They showcase unconventional characters who are often snarky, sarcastic, and witty. This emphasis on human beings rather than traditional Hollywood archetypes is one of the defining characteristics of both genres.
Inventive Style
Additionally, both Nouvelle Vague films and Walking the Streets of Moscow feature a distinctive visual style. French New Wave filmmakers often employed unconventional camera angles, handheld camera techniques, and jump cuts to create a sense of immediacy and urgency in their films. These experimental techniques create a visceral sense of the world onscreen. Similarly, Walking the Streets of Moscow uses inventive camera techniques to capture the complexity of Moscow’s architecture and geography. Whether following characters down narrow streets or panning across large public squares, the film’s cinematography is both striking and unconventional.
Self-Referential
Another similarity between the two genres is their love for self-referentiality. The French New Wave was known for incorporating references to other films, literature, and art into its narratives. These allusions often functioned as a nod to the audience’s shared cultural history and helped to reinforce the sense that the film was part of a larger artistic tradition. Similarly, Walking the Streets of Moscow frequently references other aspects of Soviet culture, such as Russian literature, music, and history. In doing so, it creates a sense of shared knowledge between the characters and the viewers.
Narrative Structure
The Nouvelle Vague and Walking the Streets of Moscow both feature non-linear storytelling, another hallmark of the French New Wave. These films often relied on flashbacks, dream sequences, and other temporal disruptions to disrupt the traditional narrative structure. Walking the Streets of Moscow uses this approach to convey the chaos and dislocation of Soviet life. The film’s central characters are on a journey, both physical and emotional, that is layered with confusion, frustration, and yearning. By playing with the chronology of events, the film creates a sense of rupture and instability that mirrors the characters’ experience of Soviet society.
Distinctive Soundtrack
Finally, Walking the Streets of Moscow has a distinctive soundtrack that is reminiscent of the music used in Nouvelle Vague films. The film features a jazzy score that is both playful and melancholic. The music is used to underscore the film’s romantic and comedic elements, but it also serves to create a sense of longing and ennui. This combination of melancholy and whimsy is characteristic of the French New Wave, and it is an important aspect of the film’s overall aesthetic.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Walking the Streets of Moscow is an impressive film that captures the spirit of the French New Wave in several ways. Its focus on ordinary people, unconventional narrative structures, inventive camera techniques, and use of surrealism all mark it as a work that shares many of the characteristics of the Nouvelle Vague. While it is a distinctly Russian film that reflects its own unique culture and history, it is also part of a wider tradition of artistic experimentation that emerged across Europe in the 1960s. As such, Walking the Streets of Moscow remains a significant and influential film, both within the Soviet Union and in the broader context of international cinema.
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