The mathematical precision of every gesture and movement contributes to the total effect of each character and episode. Kulešov taught his workshop that the hands, arms and legs are the most expressive parts of the film actor’s body and we can observe that their movements create as much of the film’s tension as does the facial expression. The same intensity of ‘performance’ by Hohlova and Fogel’ that amazed critics only proved how correct was Kulešov’s avoidance of ‘performance’. Even Šklovskij, who had worked in all stages of the film’s preparation, confessed, “Kulešov made more out of the film than I expected.” To paraphrase Edmund Wilson’s estimate of Turgenev, Kulešov in one film had perfected “the modern art of implying social criticism through a narrative that is presented objectively, organized economically, and beautifully polished in style”.

Jay Leyda, Kino, George Allen & Unwin, 1960