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Russian Ark
Russian Ark is held in such high esteem and I don't know why. Directed by Alexander Sokurov, it was filmed entirely in one take and that's literally the only thing impressive about this movie. The rest of it is like somebody deliberately set out to make the least entertaining film. If that was Alexander Sokurov intended, he succeeded.
The film takes on a first person perspective as we find ourselves in an art museum with a bunch of historical Russian figures. Nobody can see or hear us...apart from one mysterious stranger. The plot is as boring as it sounds; who thought it would be a good idea to make a film about walking around an art museum? Nothing of note ever happens. It's just historical figures wandering around, talking to each other and dancing whilst we watch the only person who knows we're there admire some stuff. I nearly fell asleep countless times whilst watching this film at the cinema at university and the annoying thing is they could have done something much more interesting with it.
The character we follow (played by Sergey Dreyden) appears a bit like the Doctor in Doctor Who. You have these various historical figures, so why not make it a time travel plot? Have us time travel through periods of history with different settings each time, not just a boring art museum. There must be some events from Russian history where something interesting actually happens. Just because you can do something in one take doesn't necessarily make it a good idea. Sometimes it's better when these filmmakers stop trying to be clever and think about what makes a great story rather than how they can do something nobody else would do. An art museum is a boring setting to begin with; it's obvious setting a film entirely in one isn't a good idea.
I am given no reason to care about Sergey Dreyden's character at all, neither by the writing or the actor. He just appears as a guy who is fascinated by everything he sees. So what? Why should I care? Making him a time traveller like the Doctor would have automatically made him a far more interesting character. Instead there's just this man who happens to be the only one who can see and hear us as the audience; nothing interesting beyond him being a mystery and no compelling reason given to care.
Overall, Russian Ark is a terrible film that could have benefitted from a time travel plot with a time traveller character than what we have instead. I only wish I hadn't watched this boring film. Whoever thought this was a good idea must be insane. Avoid at all costs. Unless, of course, you like watching a boring character walk around a boring art museum among boring historical figures.
Russian Ark is held in such high esteem and I don't know why. Directed by Alexander Sokurov, it was filmed entirely in one take and that's literally the only thing impressive about this movie. The rest of it is like somebody deliberately set out to make the least entertaining film. If that was Alexander Sokurov intended, he succeeded.
The film takes on a first person perspective as we find ourselves in an art museum with a bunch of historical Russian figures. Nobody can see or hear us...apart from one mysterious stranger. The plot is as boring as it sounds; who thought it would be a good idea to make a film about walking around an art museum? Nothing of note ever happens. It's just historical figures wandering around, talking to each other and dancing whilst we watch the only person who knows we're there admire some stuff. I nearly fell asleep countless times whilst watching this film at the cinema at university and the annoying thing is they could have done something much more interesting with it.
The character we follow (played by Sergey Dreyden) appears a bit like the Doctor in Doctor Who. You have these various historical figures, so why not make it a time travel plot? Have us time travel through periods of history with different settings each time, not just a boring art museum. There must be some events from Russian history where something interesting actually happens. Just because you can do something in one take doesn't necessarily make it a good idea. Sometimes it's better when these filmmakers stop trying to be clever and think about what makes a great story rather than how they can do something nobody else would do. An art museum is a boring setting to begin with; it's obvious setting a film entirely in one isn't a good idea.
I am given no reason to care about Sergey Dreyden's character at all, neither by the writing or the actor. He just appears as a guy who is fascinated by everything he sees. So what? Why should I care? Making him a time traveller like the Doctor would have automatically made him a far more interesting character. Instead there's just this man who happens to be the only one who can see and hear us as the audience; nothing interesting beyond him being a mystery and no compelling reason given to care.
Overall, Russian Ark is a terrible film that could have benefitted from a time travel plot with a time traveller character than what we have instead. I only wish I hadn't watched this boring film. Whoever thought this was a good idea must be insane. Avoid at all costs. Unless, of course, you like watching a boring character walk around a boring art museum among boring historical figures.