This film is so odd and bizarre that I was totally immersed in it. In actuality, this is a basic story that deals with Siberian peasant 'Rasputin', the mystic whose ability to improve the condition of Aleksey Nikolayevich, the hemophiliac heir to the Russian throne, made him an influential favorite at the court of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra.
The actor who plays Rasputin is an evil duplicate, a man who is oozing virulence, and he also has a very charismatic smile that almost looks diabolical. He's a strange character, and has a vastly powerful influence on the Czar's family and Russian political life.
As the viewer, we are left to wonder, 'what do these people see in him, how does he control them so?'.
He soon makes enemies of the church, the state, and the local husbands, who do not take kindly to his debauchery and licentiousness.
The director is brilliant in weaving a documentary montage of Russian events, and the ending is one of the most powerful ever envisioned by a director.
Director Elem Klimov also directed Come and See (1985), another supreme movie.
I was especially lucky to find a VHS copy in a big city public library, because this is an extremely hard to find title.
The actor who plays Rasputin is an evil duplicate, a man who is oozing virulence, and he also has a very charismatic smile that almost looks diabolical. He's a strange character, and has a vastly powerful influence on the Czar's family and Russian political life.
As the viewer, we are left to wonder, 'what do these people see in him, how does he control them so?'.
He soon makes enemies of the church, the state, and the local husbands, who do not take kindly to his debauchery and licentiousness.
The director is brilliant in weaving a documentary montage of Russian events, and the ending is one of the most powerful ever envisioned by a director.
Director Elem Klimov also directed Come and See (1985), another supreme movie.
I was especially lucky to find a VHS copy in a big city public library, because this is an extremely hard to find title.