Russian Ark is Aleksandr Sokurov's homage to the Russian State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. The film is renowned for being the first feature length narrative film to be shot in one take, and from start to finish Sokurov glides us through 33 different stately rooms as we encounter historical figures from the last 200+ years.
The viewer is accompanied on this waltz, (or perhaps more fittingly, this mazurka for its lively East European tempo) by a 19th Century French Aristocrat who acts as both guide and critic of Tsarist Russia. The pacing of the movie and snippets of information divulged mean you don't have to be a Russian scholar to appreciate the film.
In one sense, the film is a triumph. Sokurov has created a very stylised, interesting and enjoyable movie in one single fluid take, and watching the film you understand what an achievement this is. The direction is visually hypnotising and the co-ordination of the cast and crew mesmerising. But, Sokurov seems to have delivered Cinema as Art rather than Cinema as Entertainment, and i couldn't help feel constantly reminded that i was merely a viewer rather than a participant in this film, perhaps a Russian coldness that made it difficult to become involved and engrossed in the film. Sokurov has certainly achieved something by shooting a film in one take, but, like a book with no punctuation the effect can be quite tiring and you find yourself trying to create commas and full-stops just to give yourself chance to breathe
The viewer is accompanied on this waltz, (or perhaps more fittingly, this mazurka for its lively East European tempo) by a 19th Century French Aristocrat who acts as both guide and critic of Tsarist Russia. The pacing of the movie and snippets of information divulged mean you don't have to be a Russian scholar to appreciate the film.
In one sense, the film is a triumph. Sokurov has created a very stylised, interesting and enjoyable movie in one single fluid take, and watching the film you understand what an achievement this is. The direction is visually hypnotising and the co-ordination of the cast and crew mesmerising. But, Sokurov seems to have delivered Cinema as Art rather than Cinema as Entertainment, and i couldn't help feel constantly reminded that i was merely a viewer rather than a participant in this film, perhaps a Russian coldness that made it difficult to become involved and engrossed in the film. Sokurov has certainly achieved something by shooting a film in one take, but, like a book with no punctuation the effect can be quite tiring and you find yourself trying to create commas and full-stops just to give yourself chance to breathe