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Russian Ark

Russian Ark

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Summary

Experimental drama from director Alexander Sokurov - the first entirely unedited, single-take, full-length feature film. At the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, a contemporary film-maker (who remains unseen) encounters the Marquis de Custine, a cynical French diplomat from the 19th century, and the two men become companions on an extraordinary, time-travelling journey through Russia's turbulent past.

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IMDB

Review

A star rating of 5 out of 5.

David Parkinson

Audacious in conception and breathtaking in execution, this compelling compendium of historical incident and cultural ideas will thrill anyone with a passion for film. The manner in which director Aleksandr Sokurov has choreographed Tilman Büttner's single-take Steadicam waltz around St Petersburg's Hermitage museum is pure cinematic poetry. This ingenuity is matched by the variety of rhythms the action accomplishes, as the camera hurries between rooms or mingles with revellers at a court ball, pauses to consider the symbolism of a Van Dyck painting or observe the cosy domesticity of Tsar Nicholas II taking tea with his family. Providing the audience with a privileged private view of the Hermitage's treasures as well as a unique insight into the Russian character, this is a masterclass in content and form.

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7.2/10

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Credits

Cast

rolenameMarquis de Custine, the strangerSergei DontsovCatherine the GreatMaria KuznetsovaSpyLeonid MozgovoyOrbeliDavid GiorgobianiBoris PiotrovskyAlexander ChabanPeter the GreatMaxim Sergeyev

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Crew

rolenameDirectorAleksandr Sokurov

Details

Theatrical distributor

Artificial Eye

Released on

2003-04-04

Languages

Russian | Persian

Available on

video and DVD

Formats

Colour

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