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Russian Ark (2002)

Director: Alexander Sokurov

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From Time Out Film Guide

Despite the almost inevitable longueurs, not to mention mumbling melancholy offscreen comments that sometimes verge on the self-parodic, this is certainly a superior Sokurov feature, and not only for its extraordinarily virtuoso mise-en-scène. Digitally shot in a single continuous take, it wanders around St Petersburg's Hermitage, taking in the building, its furnishings and objets d'art, and a host of characters, historical and contemporary, both named (Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Nicholas, Alexandra, Anastasia) and anonymous, while pondering the Russian soul and its ambivalent relationship with Europe. As the unseen film-maker and a 19th century French diplomat guide us on our journey through space and time, it's hard not to be distracted by thoughts of how it was all choreographed, but a magnificent ball scene and the final poignant departure manage to work their magic.

Author: GA 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide

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George Marshall said...

Posted on Feb 15 2009 09:40 A very mixed bag...the danger of a single take film (such as Rope) is that it just feel like stage plays and feel satisfying than a movie, but the brilliance of RUssian Ark is that it continually moves through space and time, It is truly hypnotic and the final sequence at a ball and moving with the guests as they descend down a vast staircase must rate as one of the most astonishing film sequences of all time.
But for all that Sokurov missed a chance for something astonishing. It is almost as if his conceit worked better than he'd expected and he didn;t know how to meet its challenge. The script is rambling and pretensious, it has very little narrative drive and no clear point. It claims to be a panorama of Russian history yet contains no moment of real resonance.
Disappointing for what it missed, but a seminal piece of cinema nonetheless.

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