It has been years since I watched Dark Eyes. It made a pretty strong impression on me at the time. Marcello Mastroianni plays Romano, an Italian aristocrat, who recounts his tale of love and romance for a lovely Russian, and in turn Russia, to a fellow passenger aboard a cruise ship. The film captures the end of the Tsarist era, which Mikhalkov so much loves. Here is a clip that provides the introduction to the movie.
Wrapped up Part II the other night and have to say that Dostoevsky certainly has a comic's eye, although one senses the potentially tragic undertones. For Dostoevsky the aristocracy seems to be one largely made up of capricious souls more obsessed with good manners than any profound sense of their being. This is particularly true for the Epanchins, who comically wrestle with their emotions in one scene after another as he places them in very odd and unnerving situations that test the limits of poor Lizaveta Prokofyevna's endurance. Of her daughters, Aglaya, is the most interesting. A real beauty much along the same lines as Nastasya Filippovna Barashkov, who likewise seems to have a hold on Prince Myshkin's emotional strings. Part II ended with Lizaveta demanding to know the extent of the Prince's interests in her youngest daughter. The Prince insisted his feelings were Platonic, but one senses there is more to be said on the matter in later chapters. ...
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