Summary
A series of shots show a misty night around the Odessa harbor. Nothing happens; most of the shots are motionless. In the morning, some townspeople come to the pier to see Vakulinchuk’s tent. Well-dressed, presumably wealthier folk pass through with only a short look, but poorer people stop for a long time to pay their respects. A title card informs us that news of Vakulinchuk and the Potemkin mutiny has spread across the city. We see a shot of a long, empty staircase, and the image of a long string of people walking down it fades onto the shot. A huge crowd gathers around the tent and many drop coins into Vakulinchuk’s hat. More shots show enormous lines of people walking towards the pier to see the tent. A woman near the tent declares that they will remember what Vakulinchuk fought and died for. A young man reads from a paper a short speech about Vakulinchuk that calls for open rebellion. Several old women cry near Vakulinchuk and one kisses his hand. Others cry out “All for one! One for all!” The “One for all!” is divided into two title cards: “One” is shown before a shot of Vakulinchuk’s body and “for all” is shown before a wider shot of the crowd.
After a moment of silence, a number of people yell out, calling for rebellion. The crowd is enthused. A wealthy-looking man is amused, and yells “Smash the Jews!” to the crowd. The crowd becomes angry at this (Odessa had a substantial Jewish population at the time) and the man tries to slink away before being grabbed and beaten by the crowd. The crowd yells more, declaring that they will determine the future. These title cards are cut between more shots of huge crowds marching through the city.
Back on the Potemkin, sailors gather on deck to hear from a man representing the people of Odessa. He declares that they must all work together to fight the government and the sailors are excited. We cut between people on the shore waving their hats and the sailors doing the same onboard. A solid red flag (which shows up as red even on the black-and-white film, using a post-production special effect) is raised on the ship’s mast. Everyone roars in approval.
Analysis
This sequence continues the transition between the stories of Vakulinchuk’s heroism and the collective action which will carry Russia into the future. As such, we begin by strictly memorializing Vakulinchuk. We see a number of people gather and mourn over him specifically, without talking so much about the revolutionary cause. Eisenstein is, however, very careful about what kinds of people are participating in the mourning as opposed to just looking on. The mourners and sympathizers are all dressed in a way that indicates poverty or working-class status. The less sympathetic onlookers are almost universally well-dressed, indicating wealth. This choice is fairly self explanatory: rich people would necessarily be less interested in the cause Vakulinchuk fought for. We also see a great variety of people, many of whom get their own close ups and lines of dialogue despite not having names or larger roles in the story. This may seem jarring to modern viewers used to clearly defined casts of characters, but it is a very intentional act by Eisenstein. He wants to emphasize the virtues of collective action, and in doing so tries to avoid placing too much focus on individual characters, especially after Vakulinchuk’s death.
Eventually, more and more people gather at the pier. We see shots of Odessa suddenly filled with huge crowds of people. We even see images of empty streets and empty stairs; then crowds fade in to the shot. This is similar to the fading technique Eisenstein had used for the men hanging from the mast, but in this case, the shot is not meant to be purely impressionistic. These crowds of people are very real. Eisenstein seems to use the fading technique to imbue a mystical quality to the people who are arriving. The tragic sacrifice of Vakulinchuk has moved the people so deeply that massive support for the revolution has sprung up where none could see it before. Eisenstein lingers on these crowd shots for quite some time after they appear, showing what must be hundreds if not thousands of extras. He wants us to feel the full force of the people rising into revolutionary sentiment.
Once more people have gathered, the public conversation moves much more into the overtly political realm. The arguments are mostly nonconfrontational and lacking in specifics, but the very act of public debate is an important thematic element. Historically, much internal debate was necessary before the Russian communist revolutionaries were prepared to enact their plan. From the intellectual debate of early Marxist academics, to the socialist party schism of 1903 which led to the creation of the Bolsheviks, to the competing ideologies of Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, debate was a vital step in forming communist platforms. However, not all debate is productive in this scene. A well-dressed man (we are meant to infer that he is a wealthy man trying to sow discord among the rebels) calls for the crowd to “Smash the Jews!” This is reflective of the theory that ethnic conflicts are primarily distractions which stand in the way of working class solidarity. In this case, the film goes one step further to imply that such tensions are sown intentionally by those who have a vested interest in preventing working class solidarity. The crowd dismisses and attacks this man immediately, rejecting his bigotry and embracing solidarity. This is another of the idealized Soviet values which Eisenstein hopes to impress on the audience.
Finally, the people seem to come to a conclusive agreement on the question of joining the revolution. They send an emissary to the ship and the red flag is raised. This flag stands out from the black and white film, representing the bright new idea of communism. This was only possible after the people of Odessa had reached a consensus and joined the sailors. The red flag represents a new united front, a synthesis of civilian and military that was only possible through great sacrifice and democratic process.
