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Russian Ark [VHS]

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A visually spellbinding feat of cinematic technology by the Director, Alexsandr Sokurov brings us the "Russian Ark". This movie takes place in St. Petersburg, Russia, and brings us ninety minutes of the history of "The Hermitage Museum" told in an unusual image of the 18th and 19th centuries. The remarkable piece of this movie is that it is shot in one fluid take using High Definition video cameras.

The State Hermitage is in actuality 6 buildings on the embankment of the River Neva. The most magnificent of the buildings is the Winter Palace, residence of Russian Tsars from 1754 to 1762. The Hermitage took 2 1/2 centuries to build and exemplifies pieces from the Stone Age to the 20th Century. There are over 3 million pieces of art on display from Da Vinci to Monet. Some of the most exciting times took place during the German Invasion in 1941. We are indeed fortunate that many hid the treasures within, and that the treasures were found after the war. The Hermitage is open to the public and you can find more information on their web page:
http://www.hermitage.ru/html_En/index.html

867 actors practiced for months to dance the mazurka in the ballroom, march to a military salute or watch a theatre performance. There was one take only and anything could go wrong at any time. There were years of development and preparation for the 4 hours of filming. Sokurov depended upon German HD specialists KOPP MEDIA to assist with the details of the script. How a camera would move, the distance of feet to be covered in the narrative, and the use of a steadicam. A hard disk recording system was developed that was portable and equipped with an ultra-stable battery. One shooting day with 4 hours of light was the magic number.

A Marquis, a limber European in dress black is the film's guide. He is invisible to most and he leads the narrator through each room and gallery. He interacts with guests but others do not see the "ghost". The Marquis takes us from the 17th century to the present. We meet Catherine the Great, Nicholas I, and there is no explanation of what is happening or what are their roles. We are left to our imagination and the beautiful rooms and halls and galleries that are The Hermitage. The last thirty minutes are dedicated to 3 orchestras and the ballrooms and the dancing and the exquisitely dressed people of the times. We are but trespassers in this venue, but we are left to wonder the marvels of The Hermitage, and the wonder of this film. prisrob

One of the most visually stunning films ever made, Alexandr Sokurov's RUSSIAN ARK is a landmark creation on many levels, many of which have been touted in numerous articles and reviews. From a purely technological aspect, it's the first feature-length film ever made using a single camera photographing a single 96-minute shot in one take, with no edits. The documentary feature on the DVD gives the viewer an inside look at the challenges of this approach - made more daunting by the fact that during the winter in St. Petersburg, the crew only had about 4 hours of daylight with which to work. The logistics requiring the crew surrounding the camera - including the director - to stay out of view, even as the cinematographer spun 360º from time to time, are a major work or choreography in themselves. Sokurov's dedication to his project - and the dedication of his crewmembers - is both apparent and very moving.

In an interview included in the `making of' documentary on the DVD, the director states `I'm sick of editing. I don't want to experiment with time. I want to screen real time - it should be as it is. One doesn't have to fear the flow of time.' So many filmmakers are so concerned that their audience's attention span is so short that they will become bored if things don't `move right along' - it lowers cinema to the `lowest common denominator', fails to challenge the audience, and, in the final analysis, insults the viewer's intelligence. There's no danger of that in any of Sokurov's work - the viewer's mind (and emotions) are given quite a workout, and, as with physical exercise, are stronger for it in the end.

Some critics - who perhaps have no patience for being required to think about what they're seeing - criticize Sokurov and other visionary directors (such as the great Andrei Tarkovsky) as being cold and emotionless. Nothing could be further from the truth. Sokurov has stated in several forums that one of the goals of RUSSIAN ARK - and all of his work - is to evoke strong emotions in the viewer. The methods of his creation might be different from those we have come to expect from the major Hollywood studios - but they are very effective, and more thought provoking in the bargain.

In RUSSIAN ARK we experience Russia's treasured museum, the Hermitage, from the point of view of a `visitor' - we never see his face, only hear his voice and thoughts (by Sokurov himself) as he walks through the Winter Palace, viewing tableaux from 300 years of Russian history enacted before his eyes. He is accompanied for most of his journey by another character - unnamed in the film, but based on the Marquis de Custine, who published a travel book in 1839 entitled EMPIRE OF THE CZAR: A JOURNEY THROUGH ETERNAL RUSSIA - with whom he converses and debates the scenes they see before them. We witness Peter the Great berating one of his generals; a play written by the Tsarina is performed for her and selected guests; the appearance before the Tsar of a delegation from Persia, there to apologize for the murder of a Russian diplomat in their country; a grand ball featuring a full symphony orchestra and hundreds of dancers (perhaps the visual climax of the film); and in perhaps the film's most poignant moment, we witness Tsar Nicolas and his family dining together, blissfully unaware of their impending fate. Along the journey from room to room, from tableau to tableau, the viewer, along with the narrator and the Marquis, can gaze upon some of the most breathtaking art the world has ever produced. Even the building itself, with its incredible architecture and opulent outfittings, is a character in its own right - Sokurov's vision has brought the Hermitage to life in a way that draws the viewer right into every frame.

The director has succeeded marvelously in his effort to show the `living' aspects of history, of art. Museums have an undeserved reputation for being `dead' places - they couldn't be more alive. The dangers in abandoning or forgetting our past have been shown time and time again, in both social and political theatres. As the Marquis states at one point during the film, `Everyone can see the future - but no one remembers the past.'

Sokurov stated that he had long held a dream of `making a film in one breath' - he has achieved that beautifully in RUSSIAN ARK, and it will take your breath away as well. This is cinema for the time capsule.

As far as I have been able to ascertain, the only other Sokurov film available in the US is MOTHER AND SON - check it out as well, and pray that more of his work will become accessible.

The best way to see any great film is, of course, on the screen - so don't pass up any opportunity to experience him in that way, either.

Aleksandr Sokurov has created a unique, wondrous masterpiece of a film in his great homage of Russian history and art and the Hermitage Museum. Four years in the planning, a cast of thousands, exquisite reproductions of costumes that span the three hundred years of Russian history, and brilliant cinematography by the German Tilman Buttner, Sokurov has condensed the essence of Russian culture in a 90 minute non-stop 'live' filming within the halls of the Hermitage museum (all 5 palaces known as the winter palaces of the Tsars). The result is an enchanting, bewitching, meandering tour of Russian from the time of Catherine the Great, Peter the Great, Pushkin, the Romanovs - Nicholas I and II - to the final ball in the palace the night Tsarist Russia ended. Our tour guide is the off camera voice of Sokurov in conversation with a French Marquis and assorted ghosts of the past as we seamlessly view glimpses of Russia's past, scenes like an actual play that Catherine the Great wrote and watched, the writer Pushkin, the Romanov family at their last supper in the palace and the grand ball that culminates this stage of the glory of Russia. The ballroom scene is resplendent with vast numbers of costumed actors dancing a mazurka to the music (Glinka's mazurka from his opera 'The Life of the Tsar') provided by the Maryinski Orchestra conducted by no less than Valery Gergiev! As the guests finally leave the Hermitage museum the camera focuses on an open window overlooking the sea on which the city of St Peterburg floats. We then know that we have been on an ark of Russian culture for the past 90 minutes - an immeasureably beautiful and sensitive document that has captured all the mystery of Russia's history, presented with tenderness and finesse and with the extraordinary facility using the newest of digital camera technology. This is a magnificent epic film and deserves a wide audience on its own. The additional information provided by a 30 minute "How the film was made" on the DVD is equally informative and graceful. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

"Russian Ark" is the story of a young filmmaker who suffers a blow on the head while filming a project at the Hermitage - the former palace of the Tsars which is now a national museum. As the filmmaker wanders through the museum, he finds that he is detached from his own time; he wanders in the company of a French diplomat - an historical figure who wrote a travelogue about Russia in the 19th century - he finds himself witnessing vignettes from Russian history. Some are far in the past - the Russian poet Pushkin appears, as does Peter the Great (who is in the act of condemning his son to death for rebellion). Others are more recent; in particular, he sess the terrible sufferings of the people of Leningrad during their city's 1,000-day siege during World War II. Through it all, the Ark bears and preserves its cargo of history, culture, and memory.

My wife and I had the privilege of seeing "Russian Ark" in a theater last winter. The movie is wonderful; for myself, it recalled my visit to Leningrad in 1976, one of my most precious memories. However, the movie was shot in high-definition video and the transfer to film was poorly done. At times, the image was muddy and murky, the sound was not always in synch with the image, and the color palette changed drastically from one reel to another. The DVD corrects these flaws, and reveals Alexander Sokurov's film in its glory:
a feast for the eye.

Memory is, in large part, what makes us human. Sukorov's film is a testament to human memory, and to the the memories, glorious and terrible, that are particularly Russian. See it, and grow wise.

I would add only some additional information on top of other reviews. The movie covers Russian culture aspects pretty well. People with interests in theatre, world cultures and phylosophy would definitely enjoy seeing the movie. It is not a typical 'Hollywood' movie, and that's what I liked about it.

The only negative side that I can notice is the English subtitles. I am russian-speaking myself, so I could see the difference between pronounced dialogs and translated subtitles. Unfortunately, the subtitles are shorter than I wanted them to be. They do not capturing many small, but crucial details that help understanding about what director wanted you to get out of the movie.

This film transcends itself: The grand tour of the Russian age of European influences crawls to a halt with the advance of the German armies to the gates of St. Petersberg. We see the grand royal entourage in their final days of glory slowly filing out of the Winter Palace as if floating into eternity beyond the doors of existence as ghosts watch their departure. This is a film that filming was meant for: quiet, elaborate, detailed, with little dialogue, no "story", and one long, unbroken flow of camera that carries the viewer into history and beyond.

There is little doubt that RUSSIAN ARK created a milestone in filmmaking. A phenomenal amount of time, energy, and money went into the production of this film. The cast included 867 trained actors plus more than a thousand extras and dozens of horses and carriages. Filmed in one continuous shot inside the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, RUSSIAN ARK portrays 300 years of Russian history filmed in 33 museum rooms with three live orchestras. For ninety minutes the camera followed a man dressed in black who is product of the past. As he moves from gallery to gallery it is revealed from his dialogue that this man is a historical diplomat from France. He has much criticisms and critiques of Russian art and culture in contrast to Europe. Important moments of Russia's past are intertwined with the man's visit to the Hermitage. The past comes alive and the viewer is a voyeur to these historical events. I was fascinated and intrigued while watching this film as I was transported to the past. The music was tender and delicate and the costumes and makeup were elaborate and detailed. RUSSIAN ARK portrays a fusion of Russia's culture and art. I highly recommend watching the special feature "In One Breath" which is both a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the making of this film and a director's and cameraman commentary.

In short, I absolutely loved this film. My only regret is that I didn't see it on the big screen.

In the history of cinema, it is the Russians who are generally credited with elevating film editing to a modern art form. It is ironic, and strangely fitting, therefore, that it should be the Russians who, almost a full century later, have now produced the first full-length feature film ever to be composed of a single unedited shot running uninterrupted from first moment to last (Hitchcock came close with "Rope," but he did include a few "cuts" in the course of the film). Even Sergei Eisenstein, who, in films like "Potemkin" and "Ten Days That Shook the World" spent his career developing and demonstrating the power of editing, would, I dare say, be impressed by "Russian Ark," a film every bit as innovative and challenging as those earlier seminal works.

For their bravura, awe-inspiring cinematic tour-de-force, director Alexander Sokurov and cinematographer Tilman Buttner take us into the famed Hermitage Museum and Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, providing us with a grand tour not only of the opulent rooms and famous artwork contained therein, but of 300 years of Russian history as well, as various vignettes involving famous people (from Peter and Catherine the Great to Nicholas and Alexandra) and events are played out within the glorious gilded walls.

"Russian Ark" is a bold and audacious project that is the cinematic equivalent of a breathlessly performed high wire juggling act. We know that one false move on the part of the actors or the cameraman, one missed cue or accident of fate could bring the whole delicately poised enterprise crashing down around them. How often, one wonders, did a perfectionist like Sukorov have to resist the temptation to yell "Cut!" to his actors and crew? It's truly amazing to see just how beautifully planned and flawlessly executed the final product turns out to be, especially the ball sequence at the end which features hundreds of dancers and spectators who are set in beautifully choreographed and constantly whirling motion. What's most remarkable is how much of a participant the camera itself is in the proceedings. Not content to stand idly by and observe the scene like some passive onlooker, the camera moves right into the center of the action, gliding in and out of the crowds with utmost grace and precision. Visually, the film is stunning, with exquisite costumes and furnishings as far as the eye can see. Indeed, "Russian Ark" is, among other things, a veritable feast for the eyes, the likes of which we have rarely seen on film before.

"Russian Ark" does have something of a "plot," involving a narrator whom we never see, a 21st Century filmmaker - we assume it's Sukorov himself - who's found himself inexplicably caught in some type of time warp and magically transported to this strange spectral world. There's also a bizarre European "ghost" figure from the unspecified past who comments - and occasionally attempts to intrude - on the actions taking place around him. But these two characters are of far less interest to the audience than the aural and visual delights of the film itself.

"Russian Ark" is a wonder to behold, for it is much more than just an "exercise," a "gimmick," or even an "antithesis" to Eisenstein; it is a vibrant work of art that challenges the limits of its medium and reminds us of just what it is about movies that we love so much.

"Russian Ark" has earned a place in cinematic history by being the longest continuous shot ever in a movie. The entire hour-and-a-half film is one uninterrupted take. No edits. No stopping. Tilman Buttner, the film's cinematographer, supported and maneuvered a digital Steadicam through 33 rooms of St. Petersburg's Hermitage Museum for an hour and a half while the action played out before the camera. Director Alexander Sukurov used 2,000 actors, thousands of lavish costumes, precise choreography, and impeccable timing to bring Russian history to life inside the Hermitage Museum, which was for centuries the Winter Palace for Russia's Tzars. The audience sees through the eyes of a modern Russian man, perhaps a ghost, who is able to wander the rooms of Hermitage invisible to those he observes. This man is our narrator, for lack of a better word. His voice is that of director Alexander Sukurov. The narrator encounters another man who is out of place and sometimes unseen by others, a French Marquis who lived in Russia in the early 19th century. The Marquis serves as a guide and provides a running commentary on Russian culture and art, which was not to his liking during his lifetime. As our narrator and the Marquis wander from room to room, they witness the people and history that inhabited the Hermitage through centuries of Romanov rule and into the 20th century. We catch glimpses of Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Nicholas I, Nicholas II and witness the last days of Tzarist government. The Marquis articulates a Western European view of Russian culture as second-rate and borrowed, while our narrator draws attention to works of Russian origin while acknowledging the tendency for Russians to collect foreign art. The film culminates in a magnificent ball with live orchestra, which would have been logistically difficult to film in multiple takes or even to organize in real life, so is especially impressive filmed in one sweeping take. Director Alexander Sukurov has said that "Russian Ark" is "a film about the Hermitage, for the Hermitage." Although it is interesting to identify and observe the various prominent figures from Russian history that we see, the film isn't a history lesson. It is more like a fly on the wall in the Hermitage Museum, with cultural commentary from both Russian and European, modern and aristocratic, points of view. The background conversations are apparently of so little importance that they are often not translated. I found myself wondering what people were saying though, so some knowledge of Russian might add to the enjoyment of the film. Filming in one long take could be considered an unnecessary gimmick, but the continuous shot does give the feeling of sweeping through the halls of the Museum and its history. "Russian Ark" does require patience. Not everything that went on within the walls of the Hermitage was interesting, and our guide was not chosen for having a winning personality. But "Russian Ark" has a majesty and originality that impresses despite the film's lack of a conventional narrative. Although it is not at all necessary to the understanding or enjoyment of the film, I found myself curious as to the identity of the Marquis: He is the Marquis de Custine, who, in 1839, published notoriously critical memoirs of his time in Russia. Russian with English subtitles.

"Russian Ark" is not a movie for everyone. If you confine yourself to the excitement of thrillers, the suspense of mysteries, or even the self-indulgent introspection of psychological dramas, this is probably not the movie for you. This movie defies categorization.

If you restrict yourself to reading prose, without once in awhile recognizing the poetic that a contemporary writer might inject into the work, this is not a movie for you. No, the movie is not a poem, but it is poetic.

A course in art history, and a passing knowledge of Russian history, would be helpful in approaching this film. I don't think that art history course is necessary -- but, as I reflect on it, that knowledge of Russian history might be.

As with all works of art, the reaction of the recepient of the expression may have no relation to that which the artist seeks to express. But it may be the recepient's reaction that gives life to the work. Could Leonardo have imagined that however many years later someone would write a song expressing puzzlement about the nature of the smile on the face of a woman whose portrait he had painted? I suppose I'm suggesting that a viewer of this film can walk away with a universe of impressions.

The movie is touted as a tour through a couple of centuries of Russian history by way of a tour through The Hermitage -- the supposed repository of Russian art and culture. It is immediately apparent that the art works that are viewed are not Russian. Throughout the movie, there is little reference to any native Russian art. The only acknowledgement of Russsian Art is in the ballroom scene, where there is a bow toward Russian music.

My, admittedly limited, understanding of Russian history is that Czar Peter, known as "The Great," tried desperately to Europeanize Russia. He succeeded, to the extent that the Russian asistrocacy adopted French as its language of court, and affected the manners of the royal courts of Europe. The movie suggests that this attempt to become European, at least at the aristocratic level, obliterated (denied?) the art of Russia -- the Russian soul.

In the movie, the imminent destruction of the Russian aristocracy is powerfully presented in the scene following the ball, in which we see the members of that class descending a grand staircase toward their exit. Lest the point be too subtle, the viewer is treated to a subtitle that says: "Goodbye Europe." Yes, and it is also goodbye Russia, as they have known it.

The movie was filmed in a continuous sequence, without cuts or, apparently, editing. Brilliant. The direction and cinematography are superb. That's all been said.

Let's dispense with the conventional. What hasn't been noted is the film's unstated, but somehow felt, recognition of the ambiguity that is Russia. The film shows Russia's European face, but makes one wonder where, and when, the asian/slavic/whatever face of Russia will assert itself.

A few paragraphs up, I stated that the film suggested an obliteration or denial of the Russian soul because of the aristocracy's adoption of European art. The film ignores, perhaps purposefully, the true expression of the Russian soul. Italy, France, Spain, and Holland have produced painters whose works approach immortality. But, is there a culture that has produced works that equal those of Dostheivesky, Tolstoy, Pushkin, Pasternak, Solchenisten? Perhaps locked into the artistic tradition of Orthodox icons -- post-Leninist heroism, or Stalinist repression, the Russian soul is expressed not through the visual, but through the telling of tales.

On the surface, "Russian Ark" is worth seeing. The questions that I find posed by the film are simply a bonus. I rate it a "must see," but only if you're prepared for a bit of tedium.