Nashi Devushki (1930) is basically a factory training video with a heart

If you are in the mood for a movie where people actually do work, you should probably check out Nashi devushki. It is a 1930 Soviet silent film that feels like it was shot in a real factory because, well, it probably was.

It is perfect for anyone who likes industrial history or seeing women show up the guys in a workspace. If you hate slow pacing or propaganda, you will likely find it a bit tedious.

The whole plot is just a brigade of young women turners arriving at a factory. The men there don't think they can handle the heat, but the girls are determined to win them over with labor.

It sounds dry, but there is something really satisfying about the way the cameras focus on the machinery. You can almost smell the oil and the metallic dust in the air.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Nashi devushki (1930) through its definitive frames.

Antonina Bryantseva plays one of the lead girls and she has this incredibly focused look. She does not smile much, but when she does, it feels like a big deal.

There is a scene where one of the girls is working on a lathe and the lighting is just... odd. It is very dark, but her face is glowing like she is in a cathedral instead of a machine shop.

I noticed a guy in the background of one shot who looked genuinely confused by the camera. It is those little unscripted moments that make these old films feel alive.

Andrei Kostrichkin is in this too, and he has one of those faces you just don't see anymore. He was also in Dekabryukhov i Oktyabryukhov, which was a bit weirder than this one.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Nashi devushki (1930) through its definitive frames.

The movie does that thing where it stops for a long time just to show you a close-up of a spinning gear. I think the director really loved gears.

It is not as dramatic as The Living Corpse, but it has its own quiet energy. The conflict is mostly about whether they can meet their production quotas, which is very Soviet.

Sometimes the editing is a bit jumpy. One second a girl is looking at a blueprint, and the next, she is suddenly across the room without any transition.

I liked the way the factory workers reacted to the girls. At first, they are just leaning against walls looking grumpy and skeptical.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Nashi devushki (1930) through its definitive frames.

Stuff I noticed while watching:

• The headscarves stay perfectly tied even when there is heavy machinery everywhere.
• One of the supervisors has a mustache that deserves its own credit in the film.
• The way the metal shavings fly off the machines is weirdly hypnotic to watch.
• There is a lot of pointing. People in silent movies really loved to point at things to show importance.
• The factory floor looks incredibly dangerous by modern standards. No safety goggles in sight!

The ending feels a bit rushed, like they realized they only had five minutes of film left and needed to wrap up the whole 'winning respect' thing. It just kind of happens and then the movie is over.

It is definitely not a masterpiece, but it is a cool slice of history. It is better than some of the other industrial films from that era that are just boring lectures.

If you want to see a different side of that time, maybe try On the Fire, but this one is solid for what it is. It is just a movie about working hard and proving people wrong.

I give it a thumbs up if you have a pot of coffee and an hour to kill. It is a nice reminder that people have been arguing about who can do what job for a long, long time.