Russian filmmaker Aleksandr Sokurov's pictures, widely acclaimed on the festival circuit, are beautiful, but they easily fulfill the cliched description of Godard's movies -- they're like watching paint dry.
This visual portrait of a dying old woman and her devoted son is a series of static images minus any significant content and dragged out for an interminable 73 minutes. Although scheduled for a commercial release this winter, only the most die-hard intellectual will give it any attention. The film was recently showcased at the New York Film Festival.
Inspired, the production notes tell us, by Russian folk tales and the paintings of Caspar David Friedrich, the film presents a nearly mystical and timeless image of mother and son. Filmed in sepia tones with the use of mirrors that produce slightly distorted images, the picture consists of a series of stationary scenes in which the son carries the old woman through an empty village, reads letters to her, comforts her through her illness, etc.
There are also endless shots of the landscape, with an emphasis on wind-battered cornfields. The soundtrack consists mainly of wind, thunder and piano.
Although visually arresting, "Mother and Son" is an arduous experience that only the most patient cineaste will endure willingly.
MOTHER AND SON
International Film Circuit
Director Aleksandr Sokurov
Producer Thomas Kufus
Screenplay Yuri Arabov
Executive producers Katrin Schlosser,
Martin Hagemann, Alexander Golutva
Photography Alexei Fyodorov
Editor Leda Semyonova
Music Mikhail Glinka,
Otmar Nussio, Giuseppe Verdi
Color/stereo
Cast:
Mother Gudrun Geyer
Son Alexei Ananishnov
Running time -- 73 minutes
No MPAA rating...
This visual portrait of a dying old woman and her devoted son is a series of static images minus any significant content and dragged out for an interminable 73 minutes. Although scheduled for a commercial release this winter, only the most die-hard intellectual will give it any attention. The film was recently showcased at the New York Film Festival.
Inspired, the production notes tell us, by Russian folk tales and the paintings of Caspar David Friedrich, the film presents a nearly mystical and timeless image of mother and son. Filmed in sepia tones with the use of mirrors that produce slightly distorted images, the picture consists of a series of stationary scenes in which the son carries the old woman through an empty village, reads letters to her, comforts her through her illness, etc.
There are also endless shots of the landscape, with an emphasis on wind-battered cornfields. The soundtrack consists mainly of wind, thunder and piano.
Although visually arresting, "Mother and Son" is an arduous experience that only the most patient cineaste will endure willingly.
MOTHER AND SON
International Film Circuit
Director Aleksandr Sokurov
Producer Thomas Kufus
Screenplay Yuri Arabov
Executive producers Katrin Schlosser,
Martin Hagemann, Alexander Golutva
Photography Alexei Fyodorov
Editor Leda Semyonova
Music Mikhail Glinka,
Otmar Nussio, Giuseppe Verdi
Color/stereo
Cast:
Mother Gudrun Geyer
Son Alexei Ananishnov
Running time -- 73 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 10/1/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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