Man with a Movie Camera ending explained

What happens

The editing speeds into a blur of factories, athletes, traffic and crowds. Then the film shows its own lens, and the audience leaves an emptying cinema. The day was built from many places and times, and the film shows you the machinery behind it.

The last image

A camera lens is seen through a human eye, and the film ends on that image of looking.

What it says

The ending turns the film back on itself. Having argued that the camera sees better than we do, Vertov leaves you with the lens and the eye together, asking you to notice who is doing the looking.