Reviews

This film epitomises the art movie. As a result, this is definitely not a movie for those brought up on MTV-style editing. In fact there is no editing in Russian Ark. The film was shot on digital video, and the film's 96 minutes is made up in one shot. Set in St. Petersburg's Hermitage Museum, the audience is led on a journey through three centuries of Russian history by a French diplomat, who does not realise he can speak Russian, and an unseen filmmaker.

The film is one of the most technically amazing films you will ever see. Russian Ark has a cast of thousands, including characters such as Peter the Great, Catherine the Great and Czar Nicholas II. The amazing choreography of all the people, coupled with the ever-moving camera is an exercise in virtuosity.

However, this does not make for exciting viewing. It certainly is not easy to watch due to its lack of plot, numerous Russian references (e.g. there is a philosophical discussion of Russia's place in amongst Europe and Asia that is very reminiscent of Tarkovsky, of who Sokurov is Tarkovsky's protege) and extremely slow pace. The best way to watch a film like this is how my film lecturer told me how to watch a Tarkovsky film. She said try not to think; just let the imagery and sound soak in.

Luckily there are some amazing imagery (especially the brief exterior scenes), some sumptuous art, and some wonderful music. That said, it does feel, to an extent, like looking at an extended museum tour. Russian Ark is certainly not recommended who get bored at movies easily. However, for those who like to see something different and perhaps ultimately rewarding, give it a go.

It is not an easy film to watch - it is over three and a half hours long and it is composed entirely of conversations. Yet it is so incredibly compelling and ruthlessly observational of the human character, that it is, in my humble opinion, one of the very greatest films of all time.

The film is depressing, cynical and cruel. (If you want something uplifting, see Jacques Rivette's fantastic Céline and Julie Go Boating, which was made around the same time). It shows the idealism of the late 1960s to be nothing different from the society that it was trying to change.

It involves a supposedly liberated ménage-à-trois between Alexandre (played by Jean-Pierre Leaud), Marie (Bernadette Lafont) and Veronika (Francoise Lebrun). Yet Alexandre is shown to be as chauvinistic and jealous as any other man. The women are exposed as being willingly subservient and defining their femininity through the male gaze.

The film is an extremely icy end to the highly revolutionary French New Wave. This movement was one of the most significant movements in film history and had a profound effect on cinema as we know it. Jean-Pierre Leaud was one of the key actors of the New Wave, having starred (among other films) in the influential Les Quatres Cent Coups (1959) by Francois Truffaut as a rebellious teenager. Director Jean Eustache is not as well known as other directors from the New Wave, but he should be.

There is no improvisation (unlike in John Cassavetes's similar films made in the US) and the dialogue comes from real-life conversations. The film is resonant with Eustache's personal experiences. For example, Francoise Lebrun was a former lover of Eustache. Eustache himself committed suicide in 1981 and the real-life person that the character Marie was based on, did too. The anger and bitterness all culminate in a harrowing monologue by Veronika delivered directly to the audience, breaking down the coldly objective nature of the rest of the film. This mesmerising, personal, and honest filmic statement remains one of the most revealing films of human nature around.