■ The following is the sequence that could be called "March of the Bolsheviks", which symbolically shows that the Bolsheviks getting over dead comrades and moving forward ( 30~33 ).
■ It is "March of the Bolsheviks" as symbolism of the workers whose death does not stop the progress of the revolution, which was described by film critic Siegfried Kracauer in his book "Theory of Film : the redemption of physical reality ( 1960 )" citing Georges Sadoul's "Histoire d'un art : le cinéma ( 1949 )". ( * B )
"An interesting case in point is also the finale of Dovzhenko's Arsenal , as described by Sadoul : 'The film concluded on a metaphoric soaring [ envolee ]. The worker insurgents were fusilladed. But the hero, pierced by bullets, continued to march even though he was evidently dead. " : From a purely visual angle the shot of the marching worker is cinematic for portraying untampered-with reality. Since we know, however, that the worker is dead and that dead workers cannot march, we immediately realize that the marching hero is a mirage. That he lives on as if nothing had happened transforms him from a real being into a symbol with a propaganda message; he now signifies the ongoing revolution. So the shot of him is drained of its realistic character while still being realistic."
"Theory of Film : the redemption of physical reality ( 1960 )" p.91, Siegfried Kracauer, New York : Oxford University Press
( * B ) To point out Krakauer's one mistake, this sequence ( 30~33 ) is not the true "final" of the Arsenal. The true final is the sequence ( 58-67 ) in which Tymish makes its strong presence known, and Krakauer's description is ambiguous because his memory of the Arsenal is a mixture of the two sequences. In the sequence ( 30-33 ), the image of "March of the Bolsheviks" arises, and in the sequence ( 58-67 ), the image of "immortality" arises as Tymish exposes himself to bullets, although he is not marching. As a result, the two images are mixed. However, this is not Krakauer's mistake, but rather the mistake has already occurred in Sadoul, which he quoted. It was the age when the memory of a film was dependent on the subjectivity of each individual.
( * ) Incidentally, scenes 31 and 33 are also casually quoted in Chris Marker's documentary film on Aleksandr Medvedkin, "The Last Bolshevik ( French : Le Tombeau d'Alexandre )" ( 1992 ). About 20 minutes after the start of the film.
■ Nationalists criticize workers for failing to free Ukraine ( 34 ). The nationalist is played by Osip Merlatti ( Осип Мерлаттті ), whose similarity in appearance suggests that the nationalist is probably based on a real person, Mykhailo Sadovsky : Михайло Садовський ( 1887~1967 ), an army general in Petlyura.
■ Mykhailo Sadovsky tells the worker to walk toward the wall and turn his back to me because I will kill you ( 34~39 ).
■ But instead of turning their faces to the wall, the workers suddenly turn on their heels and walk toward Sadovsky ( 40 ). Then, the image of symbolizing "March of Bolsheviks" is inserted into the scene ( 41, 45 ). Sadovsky is surprised, and the worker asks him if he can't see it. In other words, he is asking Sadovsky if you cannot see "March of the workers" through his own appearance ? ( 42~44 )
■ Needless to say, this is also the image of the "March of the Bolsheviks" mentioned earlier, and is the sequence ( 40~45 ) that inspired Sadoul and Krakauer's description.
■ Sadovsky finds the march of the Bolsheviks within the workers and is unable to fire his pistol ( 46~50 ). Sadovsky is robbed of his pistol by the workers and is shoot to death conversely ( 51 ).
■ However, it would not be wrong to say that Dovzhenko's portrayal of Sadovsky here is somewhat malicious. Since, after the under Stalinist surveillance, Dovzhenko had no choice but to remain silent when he realized the errors in his understanding of the Bolsheviks. On the other hand, Sadovsky has consistently supported Ukraine as an exile by founding the Ukrainian Military History Society in Poland, the Ukrainian Military History Institute in Germany, and the Ukrainian Military Museum in Canada. In other words, Sadovsky was killed in the film, but actually lived longer than Dovzhenko until 1967 ( Dovzhenko died in 1956 ).
■ The following sequence is the battle between nationalists and workers that started with the moment of internal conflict in the Petrulla army ( 52~57 ).
■ As his comrades are killed one by one by the nationalists, Tymish is the only one who resists. Losing his weapon, Tymish is asked his name by the nationalists and says he is a Ukrainian worker, shoot him ( 58 ). The nationalists fire repeatedly, but Tymish does not fall over and remains upright ( 59~63 ).
■ A nationalist superior scolds his subordinates for their inability to kill Tymish ( 64 ). Subordinates are stunned ( 65 ). Tymish shouts at him to shoot himself ( 66~67 ).
■ This scene, which symbolically depicts the immortality of the workers, shows how fascinated Dovzhenko was with Bolshevik ideas at the time of the film's production. He realized that his understanding of the Bolsheviks was incorrect only when the enforcement of Stalin's personal taste and Stalinist censorship interventions began in earnest at the films after "Earth ( 1930 )."
