Salt for Svanetia
Encyclopedia
Salt for Svanetia is a 1930 Georgian silent documentary film
directed by Mikhail Kalatozov
. As one of the earliest ethnographic film
s, it documents the life of the Svan people
in the isolated mountain village of Ushguli
in Svaneti
a, in the northwestern part of the Georgian Soviet Republic. Containing some propaganda, the climax of the film shows how a Soviet built road connects the previously isolated mountain village to Soviet civilisation. Many of the scenes of the film were staged, and the authenticity of some scenes has been disputed by the Svan people.
, who are living isolated from civilisation in a harsh natural environment in the mountainous region of Svaneti
a. The film starts with the Lenin
quotation "Even now there are far reaches of the Soviet Union where the patriarchal way of life persists along with remnants of the clan system." Svanetia and the mountain village of Ushguli
are then located on two slowly dissolving maps of the region and are described as "cut off from civilization by mountains and glaciers". The location of the village is further introduced by several expository shots showing the Svanetian landscape. The film then concentrates on the daily routine of the villagers. One sequence shows how sheep are raised, and how wool and yarn are produced. Another scene shows a suspension bridge and a man trying to cross it. A harvest during an early snowstorm is shown. Other scenes show how the Svan people tailor their clothes, make hats, cut their hair and bury their dead.
The film then concentrates on the lack of salt supplies. Cut off from the outside world for most of the year, the village suffers from a shortage of salt. It is shown how this forces the animals to lick human sweat and urine. The solution to the salt shortage is presented in the climax of the film where the young Soviet power builds a road that connects the isolated region to the outside world. The film shows how teams of construction workers with their steamrollers arrive, cutting down a forest that is the last obstacle for the road that will connect the Svan people with Soviet civilisation.
Svanetia was seen as an underdeveloped region, and thus Soviet planners tried to make it a showcase of Soviet modernization during the First Five-Year Plan
between 1928 and 1932. During this time roads were built, an air service was established and industries such as mining and lumbering were developed. At the same time Soviet authorities tried to change and sovietize the traditional life of the Svan people
. It was against this background of Svanetia as a showcase of Soviet modernization that Salt for Svanetia was produced.
Inspired by a tour of the Caucasus, the writer and journalist Sergei Tretyakov
wrote a newspaper article that gave Kalatozov the idea for the film. Tretyakov then wrote a script for Kalatozov, and shooting began in the mountain village Ushguli
in Upper Svanetia. Originally the film was planned to be a fictional feature film, but ultimately Viktor Shklovsky
edited the footage Kalatozov had shot in Svanetia into a documentary film. Most, but not all, parts of the documentary were staged, similar to other Soviet documentaries of the early 1930s. The authencity of some scenes has been disputed by the Svan people who deny that some of the customs shown have ever existed. The cinematography of Mikhail Kalatozov
and the cinematographer Shalva Gegelashvili has been described as expressionistic
due to its use of dramatic shadows, silhouettes against a dramatic skyline and Dutch angle
s.
.
Despite the negative immediate reaction, Salt for Svanetia has been praised by film historians and other film directors. The Russian film director Andrei Tarkovsky
called it an "amazing film". The American film historian Jay Leyda
described it as a "masterpiece" and "the most powerful documentary film I have ever seen".
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
directed by Mikhail Kalatozov
Mikhail Kalatozov
Mikhail Kalatozov born Mikheil Kalatozishvili was a Georgian/Russian film director. Born in Tiflis , he studied economics before starting his film career as an actor and later cinematographer....
. As one of the earliest ethnographic film
Ethnographic film
An ethnographic film is a documentary film related to the methods of ethnology. It emerged in the 1960s as an important tool for research in the domain of visual anthropology, when filming human groups in society...
s, it documents the life of the Svan people
Svans
The Svans are a group of Georgians that mostly live in Svaneti, a region of Georgia speaking the Svan language. The self designated Svan is Mushüan, known to the ancient authors as Misimian.-History:...
in the isolated mountain village of Ushguli
Ushguli
Ushguli or Ushkuli is a community of villages located at the head of the Enguri gorge in Upper Svaneti, Georgia.Ushguli comprises four villages: Zhibiani some 2100 m above sea level; Chvibiani or Chubiani ; Chazhashi or Chajashi ;...
in Svaneti
Svaneti
Svaneti is a historic province in Georgia, in the northwestern part of the country. It is inhabited by the Svans, a geographic subgroup of the Georgians.- Geography :...
a, in the northwestern part of the Georgian Soviet Republic. Containing some propaganda, the climax of the film shows how a Soviet built road connects the previously isolated mountain village to Soviet civilisation. Many of the scenes of the film were staged, and the authenticity of some scenes has been disputed by the Svan people.
Synopsis
Most of Salt for Svanetia describes and explores the daily life of the Svan peopleSvans
The Svans are a group of Georgians that mostly live in Svaneti, a region of Georgia speaking the Svan language. The self designated Svan is Mushüan, known to the ancient authors as Misimian.-History:...
, who are living isolated from civilisation in a harsh natural environment in the mountainous region of Svaneti
Svaneti
Svaneti is a historic province in Georgia, in the northwestern part of the country. It is inhabited by the Svans, a geographic subgroup of the Georgians.- Geography :...
a. The film starts with the Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
quotation "Even now there are far reaches of the Soviet Union where the patriarchal way of life persists along with remnants of the clan system." Svanetia and the mountain village of Ushguli
Ushguli
Ushguli or Ushkuli is a community of villages located at the head of the Enguri gorge in Upper Svaneti, Georgia.Ushguli comprises four villages: Zhibiani some 2100 m above sea level; Chvibiani or Chubiani ; Chazhashi or Chajashi ;...
are then located on two slowly dissolving maps of the region and are described as "cut off from civilization by mountains and glaciers". The location of the village is further introduced by several expository shots showing the Svanetian landscape. The film then concentrates on the daily routine of the villagers. One sequence shows how sheep are raised, and how wool and yarn are produced. Another scene shows a suspension bridge and a man trying to cross it. A harvest during an early snowstorm is shown. Other scenes show how the Svan people tailor their clothes, make hats, cut their hair and bury their dead.
The film then concentrates on the lack of salt supplies. Cut off from the outside world for most of the year, the village suffers from a shortage of salt. It is shown how this forces the animals to lick human sweat and urine. The solution to the salt shortage is presented in the climax of the film where the young Soviet power builds a road that connects the isolated region to the outside world. The film shows how teams of construction workers with their steamrollers arrive, cutting down a forest that is the last obstacle for the road that will connect the Svan people with Soviet civilisation.
Production
First Five-Year Plan
The First Five-Year Plan, or 1st Five-Year Plan, of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a list of economic goals that was designed to strengthen the country's economy between 1928 and 1932, making the nation both militarily and industrially self-sufficient. "We are fifty or a hundred...
between 1928 and 1932. During this time roads were built, an air service was established and industries such as mining and lumbering were developed. At the same time Soviet authorities tried to change and sovietize the traditional life of the Svan people
Svans
The Svans are a group of Georgians that mostly live in Svaneti, a region of Georgia speaking the Svan language. The self designated Svan is Mushüan, known to the ancient authors as Misimian.-History:...
. It was against this background of Svanetia as a showcase of Soviet modernization that Salt for Svanetia was produced.
Inspired by a tour of the Caucasus, the writer and journalist Sergei Tretyakov
Sergei Tretyakov
Sergei Mikhailovich Tretyakov was a Russian constructivist writer, playwright and special correspondent for Pravda. He graduated 1916 from the department of law at Moscow University...
wrote a newspaper article that gave Kalatozov the idea for the film. Tretyakov then wrote a script for Kalatozov, and shooting began in the mountain village Ushguli
Ushguli
Ushguli or Ushkuli is a community of villages located at the head of the Enguri gorge in Upper Svaneti, Georgia.Ushguli comprises four villages: Zhibiani some 2100 m above sea level; Chvibiani or Chubiani ; Chazhashi or Chajashi ;...
in Upper Svanetia. Originally the film was planned to be a fictional feature film, but ultimately Viktor Shklovsky
Viktor Shklovsky
Viktor Borisovich Shklovsky was a Russian and Soviet critic, writer, and pamphleteer.-Life:...
edited the footage Kalatozov had shot in Svanetia into a documentary film. Most, but not all, parts of the documentary were staged, similar to other Soviet documentaries of the early 1930s. The authencity of some scenes has been disputed by the Svan people who deny that some of the customs shown have ever existed. The cinematography of Mikhail Kalatozov
Mikhail Kalatozov
Mikhail Kalatozov born Mikheil Kalatozishvili was a Georgian/Russian film director. Born in Tiflis , he studied economics before starting his film career as an actor and later cinematographer....
and the cinematographer Shalva Gegelashvili has been described as expressionistic
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
due to its use of dramatic shadows, silhouettes against a dramatic skyline and Dutch angle
Dutch angle
Dutch tilt, Dutch angle, Dutch shot, oblique angle, German angle, canted angle, Batman angle, or jaunty angle are terms used for one of many cinematic techniques often used to portray the psychological uneasiness or tension in the subject being filmed...
s.
Responses
After the film was finished it was criticized by Stalinist authorities as being unbalanced and unfair towards Svanetia. It was claimed that the director was too fascinated by the backwardness and superstition of Svanetia, and only superficially interested in socialist modernization. Kalatozov fell out of favor, culminating in a ban of his next film Nail in the Boot and a denunciation of his script on Imam ShamilImam Shamil
Imam Shamil also spelled Shamyl, Schamil, Schamyl or Shameel was an Avar political and religious leader of the Muslim tribes of the Northern Caucasus...
.
Despite the negative immediate reaction, Salt for Svanetia has been praised by film historians and other film directors. The Russian film director Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director, widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers of the 20th century....
called it an "amazing film". The American film historian Jay Leyda
Jay Leyda
Jay Leyda was an American avant-garde filmmaker and film historian, noted for his work on U.S, Soviet and Chinese Cinema. His The Melville Log was a day to day compilation of documents which he had painstakingly collected on the life of Herman Melville. He was a member of the Workers Film and...
described it as a "masterpiece" and "the most powerful documentary film I have ever seen".