This past week I watched a remarkable film, "Russian Ark." As I was watching it I was thinking, "what a wonder art film about history, I mean history film about art." The film, made in 2002, recounts 300 years of Russian history by means of a single, haunting, unparalleled, 96-minute Steadicam shot that guides us through the opulent Hermitage Museum; the former palace of the czars.
The fabulous splendor of Russian dynasties unfold slowly before us through the spectacular architecture, landmark paintings, and a cast of 2000 actors that appear in passing vignettes.
Whatever is lost in translation (it is a subtitled Russian production) comes across tenfold as we compare the spectacle of this lost time with what we know of it now.
It would be a good film to show in Global Studies after having studied the czars, the Russian Revolution, and Stalin.
Here's a peek:
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