A tale of generations, Earth begins with the death of a grandfather, which leads to tumultuous times for his son Opanas and grandson Vasily. When wealthy landowners appropriate the land of farmers, Vasily, influenced by communism, leads a youth movement to form collectivized farming in Ukraine.

Like Battleship Potemkin, Earth was originally commissioned as propaganda, but transcends its origins as one of the most breathtaking and acclaimed achievements of the silent era. Lyrical and abstract, it captures both the beauty of nature and cinema’s ability to show images like nothing before.