'It's a pity you're not here with me. You would understand everything. Look. The sea is all around. We are destined to sail forever. To live forever'- quotes the narrator of the story. To live forever was this movie mission, and for the most part, it kinda does. A 90-minute Russian film shot using only a Steadicam and over 2,000 actors inside a Russian history museum in one complete, continuous, uninterrupted take is indeed, going to stand out! However, there were a few mistakes on the camera that was noticeable, such as children looking at the camera or people tripping down the stairs. I guess, the director didn't notice or he really didn't feel for film editing. Still, the enormity of their accomplishment is even more striking when one realizes that the 33-rooms museum only granted one day for director Alexander Sokurov to shoot the film. After three false starts, he completed it just in time. That's pretty impressed. Set entirely within a dream-like world, the film tells the story of an unseen narrator (Voiced by Alexander Sokurov) and a foreign nobleman from the 19th century named Marquis de Custine (Sergey Dreyden) checking out the artifact artwork within the St. Petersburg's Hermitage Museum complex. As they talk, about the relics within the museum; each new room holds 300 years of recreated Russian history, allow them, to witness key events with key people play out in front of them, across different times within Russia past. This achievement was made possible by over 4,500 cast in many different lavish period outfit & historic costumes. It took four years of practice to get the film choreographic right. For that hard work ethic, we can only be thankful. The fruit of all, their labor is a delicate exploration of the nature of history and its effect on a national consciousness. Without spoiling the movie, too much, I found the movie to be, beautifully shot by Cinematographer Tilman Büttner. I love, how the steadicam camera floats, glides and even waltzes its way through all the film's commotion, spotlighting various moments of action and people seemingly at random as if a trance. As much, as I would have love to see, the historic events play out in order. The non-linear, improvisational 'structure' of the film thus acts as an evocation of the disarray of a nation's past, as if somebody is looking back only through nostalgic goggles at Imperial Russia. Trying really hard to remember, the good thing about Russia's Golden Age, but also trying really hard to ignore everything that wasn't good about their history, such as anything before Peter the Great or the time, the country was rebranded as the Soviet Union. Clearly, the movie had some troubles, talking about certain events like World War 2 or the Russian Revolution. It felt like, it was trying too hard to steer away from conflict. Some viewers might hate the film, due to that reason. I can understand; why certain audience members felt the movie was somewhat dull or boring. Without conflict, you don't have, much of a story. Despite the narrative's sluggishness, the movie does try to have somewhat of a story-arch with Marquis de Custine. I like his character development. At first, the Marquis' attitude toward Russia was mostly negative. He found the country to be, a bit too savage and full of uncreative actors. He felt like they were trying too hard of a carbon copy of other European countries at the time & incapable of something ingenuity. By the end of the film, he became, much more aware to Russia dusha and start to warm up to the idea of Russia having their own culture. As much as certain critics might find the character, unlikeable. His real life-couther part was a little harsher about Russia than this one. The movie got nearly nothing right about the character. The real-life Custine really hate autocracy, and everything about Tsarism. Another thing is that he wasn't a womanizer, but an open, practicing homosexual. I really found it odd, that he was chosen to be, one of the film's narrative voice. Still, I love the actor that play him. He remind me, so much of Christoph Waltz in the way, he speaks and moves. I also love the smart dialogue that seem to follow him, but it's clear, that the sound was added, way after filming was done. You can clearly see it, in the voice dubbing. The dialogue doesn't really match with the character's mouth movement at times. Another problem is that, it's really hard to figure out, who is speaking, and what they're trying to say. While, intriguing, some of the dialogue and artwork use are so vague, that it doesn't make, much sense. Then, there are plenty of artwork that doesn't get explain. Maybe, the film was a bit too artsy in the art-house department for me, because I really didn't get some of what the film was trying to say. Despite that, the climatic ending was very clear, but somewhat predictable. The whole movie, then, can be seen as a fight against the complex of inferiority of the Russian artist. At least, that is what I got from it. Anyways, the music and set pieces that follow the narrative, were great. Overall: I love the elegant dream like historic reenactments in this film. It was a somber watch, worth checking out. It's a very trippy film.

Sokurov breaks boundaries with his dreamlike vision of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. It's the first feature-length narrative film shot in a single take (on digital video, using a specially designed disc instead of tape). "Russian Ark" is shot from the point-of-view of an unseen narrator, as he explores the museum and travels through Russian history. The audience sees through his eyes as he witnesses Peter the Great (Maksim Sergeyev) abusing one of his generals; Catherine the Great (Maria Kuznetsova) desperately searching for a bathroom; and, in the grand finale, the sumptuous Great Royal Ball of 1913. The narrator is eventually joined by a sarcastic and eccentric 19th century French Marquis (Sergey Dreiden), who travels with him throughout the huge grounds, encountering various historical figures and viewing the legendary artworks on display. While the narrator only interacts with the Marquis (he seems to be invisible to all the other inhabitants), the Marquis occasionally interacts with visitors and former residents of the museum.

The film was obviously shot in one day, but the cast and crew rehearsed for months to time their movements precisely with the flow of the camera while capturing the complex narrative, with elaborate costumes from different periods, and several trips out to the exterior of the museum. Tillman Buttner, the director of photography, was responsible for capturing it all in one single Steadicam shot. "Russian Ark" is an amazing accomplishment, and clearly made with passion, but while the film is sure to be hailed as a masterpiece by some, its narrative conceit isn't nearly as interesting as the technical feat of its creation. The result is a unique and intelligent film with sporadic moments of transcendent beauty that fails to create a strong emotional connection with its audience. It's essentially a 96-minute museum tour, with the added benefit of time travel and wax figures that briefly come to life.

But wax figures are all they are, essentially. Sokurov, as though following a hasty guide, spends so little time with the historical figures he portrays that it often feels as though he's moving on just as you begin to figure out who and what you're watching. The Russian experience of World War II, for example, is portrayed with a brief stop in a foreboding, ghostly room filled with coffins. The filmmaker is known for his lugubrious pacing, but Russian Ark has the odd distinction of seeming both slow paced and rushed. It moves slowly and mournfully, but still only glances across the surface of the eras it portrays. It's a demanding film, encompassing a wealth of Russian history and art history between its first and final frames. Those who stay with it will be rewarded in the end by a gorgeously mounted ball, in which the camera gracefully slides among elaborately costumed dancers as the orchestra plays. It's a deeply felt irony that this transcendent moment of joy takes place on the eve of the Russian revolution, and the world of these briefly glimpsed characters is about to come crashing to an end. It's a shame that the film has few moments where form and content align so powerfully