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Hello Everybody, I haven't posted on this site for a very long time, but I figure today would be a good day to start again. That and I need community service hours, so I plan on counting Movie Reviews for this site as community service. Everything I'm about to say is simply an amatuer opinion so don't get upset if I say something that you disagree with.
"Russian Ark" by Alexander Sokurov is a monumental piece of art in the history of film. "Russian Ark" just breaks the 90 minute mark as a film, but this isn't what's so interesting. The most interesting part of the film is that it is all done in a single shot, in one building, with 2000 actors, and 3 live orchestras. The audience is led through Russian history by two time travellers. One of them is known as the stranger who is portrayed by Sergey Dreiden. The stranger along with the observer or cameraman walk through the halls of a well known Russian Museum (I can't remember the name) this museum was once a palace as is shown in the film. As the two men walk through the building they come across historic figures like Catherine the Great, and many other fascinating people of Russian history. Of course none of this is important in the film. The intent of the film maker is cause the audience to be suspended in an unending dream of pure beauty until they can't bear to leave it. This becomes most apparent in the film towards the end when The Stranger decides that he is not going to leave the with The Observer. He refuses to leave such a vivid and enjoyable place. He has found his home after traveling much to far. All of this sounds like it would be very boring: learning Russian history, following around an egocentric and volitile man, and it being all done in one shot. However this film does just the opposite. It prooves that films done in this manner can be made to be interesting. The way that the camera floats above the characters, and witnesses the smallest details taking place is dreamlike and almost Lynchian. A film of this magnitude cannot be denied as one of the greatest films ever made. The patience it must have took to set up 2000 actors in one building and then shoot it all in one take is a feat that may never be beaten. I thought of "Apollo 13" by Ron Howard while I watched this movie. Howard was able to take a small confined area with three men in it and make it into an amazingly thrilling film. "Russian Ark" is the complete opposite. It is a film on such a large scale that it would seem impossible for the director to keep it interesting, but he does. 4 out of 4 stars: Best film of 2002.
"Russian Ark" by Alexander Sokurov is a monumental piece of art in the history of film. "Russian Ark" just breaks the 90 minute mark as a film, but this isn't what's so interesting. The most interesting part of the film is that it is all done in a single shot, in one building, with 2000 actors, and 3 live orchestras. The audience is led through Russian history by two time travellers. One of them is known as the stranger who is portrayed by Sergey Dreiden. The stranger along with the observer or cameraman walk through the halls of a well known Russian Museum (I can't remember the name) this museum was once a palace as is shown in the film. As the two men walk through the building they come across historic figures like Catherine the Great, and many other fascinating people of Russian history. Of course none of this is important in the film. The intent of the film maker is cause the audience to be suspended in an unending dream of pure beauty until they can't bear to leave it. This becomes most apparent in the film towards the end when The Stranger decides that he is not going to leave the with The Observer. He refuses to leave such a vivid and enjoyable place. He has found his home after traveling much to far. All of this sounds like it would be very boring: learning Russian history, following around an egocentric and volitile man, and it being all done in one shot. However this film does just the opposite. It prooves that films done in this manner can be made to be interesting. The way that the camera floats above the characters, and witnesses the smallest details taking place is dreamlike and almost Lynchian. A film of this magnitude cannot be denied as one of the greatest films ever made. The patience it must have took to set up 2000 actors in one building and then shoot it all in one take is a feat that may never be beaten. I thought of "Apollo 13" by Ron Howard while I watched this movie. Howard was able to take a small confined area with three men in it and make it into an amazingly thrilling film. "Russian Ark" is the complete opposite. It is a film on such a large scale that it would seem impossible for the director to keep it interesting, but he does. 4 out of 4 stars: Best film of 2002.
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God Bless Mindless Self Indulgence
God Bless Mindless Self Indulgence