Films/DVD Asylum

Movies from comedy to drama to your favorite Hollyweird Star.

Use this form to submit comments directly to the Asylum moderators for this forum. We're particularly interested in truly outstanding posts that might be added to our FAQs.
You may also use this form to provide feedback or to call attention to messages that may be in violation of our content rules.

You must login to use this feature.

Inmate Login

By default, logging in will set a session cookie that disappears when you close your browser. Clicking on the 'Remember my Moniker & Password' below will cause a permanent 'Login Cookie' to be set.

Moniker/Username: The Name that you picked or by default, your email. Forgot Moniker?	Examples "Rapper", "Bob W", "joe@aol.com".
Password:	Forgot Password?
	Remember my Moniker & Password ( What's this?)

If you don't have an Asylum Account, you can create one by clicking Here.

Our privacy policy can be reviewed by clicking Here.

Inmate Comments

From:
Your Email:
Subject:

Message Comments

Original Message

Strong film, but...

Posted by Victor Khomenko on March 1, 2008 at 07:48:35:
For a film like this, I need some time to let it settle in, but my initial impression is of a strong film with serious problems.

It is natural to compare it to the master's previous work - Vozvraschenie (Return). And to put it simply... here we have Mozart writing the Beethoven's Ninth.

Anyone familiar with recent Russian films will immediately recognize the current tradition - in choices of gray color palette, desolate landscapes, soundtrack and mood. So in essence the lightness and transparent air of the Return has been replaced by the ambiance of Night Watch, and it is decidedly out of place.

The director is a master of images and moods. Like Kubrick in Barry Lyndon, his images revoke strong memory of great canvases, some of them are truly breathtaking. Frame it, and you will keep coming back to it. He and his cameraman are a wonderful team, there is no question about it. The question is rather of the message and reason.

The message is convoluted, while being basically very simple. We are seeing another crack at Bergman's analysis, but with no Bergman's insight. And we see homage to Tarkovsky's homage to Bergman - some scenes inescapably bring back the images of the Sacrifice.

So in the nutshell... a notable new work by a recognized master, perhaps finding himself out of his depth. Incredibly powerful images, coupled with strong performances. Confusion galore and some sense of relief when the credits start to roll.

Definitely a must see movie, that is bound to produce strong arguments.