From the start, Vertov made himself known as an irreconcilable enemy of “acted films,” which he regarded as a violation of truth. At the peak of World War II, however, such lofty artistic principles proved impractical. Vertov’s poetic and patriotic For You, Front! is a fiction film with a script and two actors. In a letter to her fiancé, a soldier on the front, Saule asks if there is anything he needs from “our beloved Kazakhstan.” Yes there is, he replies: lead, which can be used to make bullets to kill the enemies of “our beloved country.”.
Right / Now I am a monkey / A hundred-eye monkey / Right / Just now / I disguised / The hundred-eye monkey / In front of you / Squatting on the branches / Curling up like a monkey / With brown hair all over the body / So resemble / I keep still, really still / The leaves above my head keep me warm at night / It might be raining soon / But that’s fine / Leaves are water-proofed / I remain still / I am away from everything under the leaves / They keep me invisible from anyone or anything / Like bears, goats, mosquitos, earthworms, and even another piece of leave / I am safe, thus, I will keep being still / I feel fine / Yes, I think this is me / The look of my body doesn’t mean anything to me anymore / As long as I close my eyes / I could be anything I want.
