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Russian Ark

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Russkii kovcheg's grand tour through the Hermitage—and Russian history—is presided over by an unseen narrator. As the film starts, he mumbles about an accident and it is clear he has little knowledge of quite where he is or why. After following a group of officers who have arrived for a ball in through a small back entrance, the narrator meets a tetchy and eccentric man in black, another time traveller and the only person who is aware of the narrator's presence. The man (who later turns out to be the Marquis de Custine, a 19th-century French diplomat), is more used to the oddities of coming to in another historical period, although he is rather bemused by his new-found ability to speak perfect Russian.
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from a review in Kinoeye. Here's the trailer to the movie.

Comments

  1. avrdsSeptember 29, 2009 at 7:42 AM

    I may not have much to contribute to these discussions but sure enjoy reading them. Thanks, Gintaras.

    ReplyDelete
  2. James FergusonSeptember 29, 2009 at 12:06 PM

    You're welcome, av. Will post more as the mood suits me.

    ReplyDelete
  3. RickSeptember 30, 2009 at 2:11 PM

    Thanks for doing this. I've seen this film but can't say it stayed with me, or maybe I didn't stay with it. Quite beautifully photographed, though.

    One of my favorite Russian films is Tarkovsky's "Andrey Rublyov." It's slow, as just about every reviewer is sure to note, but worth seeing . . . and enduring.

    ReplyDelete
  4. James FergusonJanuary 21, 2011 at 12:43 AM

    Once again, thanks for all the interest being shown in this blog. Don't be afraid to make comments.

    ReplyDelete

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