SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

zacknabo The Russian Ark, much like Russian history itself, never ceases to amaze. Sokurov's greatest achievement in his 21st century work. At the time of filming it was certainly innovative (yet to be inundated with films made of one continuous take or pretending to be: see Victoria and Birdman) in the way it was shot, tracking continuously with a Steadicam. But what makes the way Russian Ark was filmed stand out is the fact that it is not a gimmick, the fluidity of the camera as the viewer is led through Russian history creates a sense of urgency and reinforces the universal reminder that no one can stop time, and as the revolution grows closer the visceral experience that the unbroken, long take was creating only escalates as the audience knows what is waiting outside The Winter Palace.

rzajac First off, I was shocked to see that the film was made in 2002. I'm watching it in 2015: Where has it been all this time? Why did not ONE soul (or that soul's print/online recommendation) get through to me about this?This almost isn't a film. I come to IMDb to rate and comment on story, editing, direction, acting, pacing, production, etc. All I need to say about this flick is that it's technically flawless. And, beyond that, it well, well, well over-pays its dues with a profound seamless metaphor that surges and metamorphoses like a slo-mo rolling tsunami wave, conceptualized by an acidhead. And all this functions as a mammoth commentary on the very concept of time, albeit specifically as it relates to human experience.I had lots of feelings while watching, but one thing that came back, again and again, is the by-design pauperization of American global understanding that was the Cold War. The stateside architects of that propaganda blitz must've known that something precious was being lost, but probably convinced themselves that the (global) village had to be destroyed in order to "save" it. I'm not saying I'm entirely sanguine about post-War Russia--Stalin and all that--and I'm not waxing romantic over Czarist Russia. But all that remonstrance is dwarfed by the sheer magnitude of humanity--physical and spiritual--that engulfs us from start to finish in this flick.Watch it.

SnoopyStyle The unseen narrator wakes up to find people in costume clothing. It's his POV. They move through the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. He learns that he embodies a 19th century French aristocrat. As the narrator and his avatar moves through the palace, they encounter various Russian characters.It's most notable for being one continuous take and having such an impressive place as the Hermitage to film it in. It's a magnificent feat but that doesn't make it a good movie. It's an experiment at best. The disembodied feel makes this like a backstage pass to a grand stage play. That would have been more exciting than this. This movie is interesting for awhile but it's very monotonous. The floaty camera moves don't change. The movie just keeps going and going. However the setting is quite impressive and the movie works on a travelogue level.

Armand little more than a museum tour, original trip in Russia past, impressive at all, it is , like each of his films, expression of Sokurov ambition. recreate a lost world, making a kind of documentary who seems a lot with the unique pleasure of book with pictures from childhood, it is not a history lesson, a national manifesto, analysis of good/bad parts from Russian civilization or introduction in the treasure of Ermitaj - few scenes - the El Greco Peter and Paul or the blind lady are really special - but an admirable occasion to reflect about levels of a society. the dance scenes are top of film. the French marquise is image of common meeting with past as refuge and danger. n impeccable show and a parable film. at first sigh, improvisation or a game. in essence, only a testimony.