RUSSIAN ARK A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 2003 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): ** 1/2
"I don't know about you, but I'm wide awake," a tall strange man in a long, black coat (Sergey Dreiden) tells an always off-camera ghost, played the film's director Aleksandr Sokurov. This line is probably intentionally ironic since I've talked with more than one person who happily fell under RUSSIAN ARK's spell, yet said that the movie was so dreamlike that they had trouble staying awake.
The storyless movie takes place in the Hermitage art museum in St. Petersburg. Using two thousand actors playing several centuries of Russians, the movie literally follows them around the museum. Some of the movie is a like a B-roll in which we either can't hear what is spoken or can only pick up snippets of the dialog. At other times, the tall stranger engages either the ghost or the people in the museum in a quick stream of small talk.
What makes the movie unusual is the number of takes. Although they didn't get it right until the third try, the movie is shot in one continuous hour-and-a-half take. Using a Steadicam and digital tape, cinematographer Tilman Büttner follows the action without a hitch. For this he certainly deserves a medal or something. (It is a definite shame, however, that real film wasn't used since the tape turns all of the magnificent art into just a murky blur.) Although it is an awesome technical feat, the movie turns out to be just a clever stunt whose welcome is worn out long before the ending credits roll.
RUSSIAN ARK runs 1:36. It is in Russian with English subtitles. It is not rated but would be a G and would be acceptable for all ages.
The film is playing in nationwide release now in the United States. In the Silicon Valley, it is showing at the Camera Cinemas.
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