Posted by Wayne Parham [ 65.69.120.231 ] on October 24, 2004 at 04:36:28:
Александр Сокуров (Alexander Sokurov) did a wonderfully interesting film called "Russian Ark." It is filmed entirely in the Госудаственный Эрмитаж (Hermitage Museum), and is done as one long take, literally 90 minutes of continuous film footage.
The movie appears to have been intended for a Western audience, since all the credits appear in English, However, the dialog is entirely in Russian and sibtitled. That's not a problem though, even if you don't speak Russian. Because the dialog is very simple, and the main focus is on the sights and sounds. It shows the art of the Palace and the music of the era when it still was home of the Tsars.
I thought the movie had a strange feel for the first few minutes. It is narrated by two ghosts, one Russian and one French. It is shown throuh the eyes of the Russian ghost, who follows the French ghost through the museum. The dialog between them is a rather condescending exchange where the Frenchman taunts the Russian about the quality of life and art in Russia. But the two are obviously connected, and the chemistry between them is interesting. But more than that is the way Sokurov was able to show 300 years of history, culture and art in this 90 minute uninterupted walkthrough of the Hermitage Palace in St. Petersburg. The "making of" section of the DVD is nearly as interesting as the film itself, so be sure and watch that too.
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