Cinema concert: The Mother (Mat)

Live music: André Desponds (piano)

A film adaptation of Maxim Gorky’s short story, in which a mother begins to show solidarity with her politically active son and, by extension, with the revolutionary labour movement. The Mother is one of the masterpieces of film history and marked the international breakthrough of director Vsevolod Pudovkin, who is ‘the great counterpoint to Eisenstein’. Like Eisenstein, Pudovkin also gave expression to the social pathos of the revolution, relying heavily on the stylistic device of montage. But Pudovkin’s films have a softer, more lyrical character than Eisenstein’s; they feature individualised heroes, and the narrative element plays a stronger role in them. Furthermore, Pudovkin’s use of montage differs from Eisenstein’s: for Pudovkin, montage is not an expression of conflict, but of continuity.’ (German Film Institute, March 2005)

‘In fact, the film owed its authenticity and intensity not least to Vera Baranovskaya’s masterful performance in the role of the mother.’ (Ulrich Gregor / Enno Patalas: History of Film)