Russian Ark

I just watched Russian Ark a movie that was shot in one take, because it is a 90 minute shot. A guy wakes up and starts walking through the Hermitage Museum, where he sees Catherine the Great, Pushkin, Peter the Great, and the last Romanovs. Every room is a different time period. There is this French Marquis he is following around. The Marquis represents Europe, and he keeps making fun of Russian culture (he insulted Pushkin! and Glinka!). The narrator is very Russian about it. Sarcasm just doesn't come through in the subtitles. I thought it was beautiful and thoughtful. The idea of the ark is that the Hermitage is all of Russia's culture in one place. They had a few references to Soviet times. It was made in 2002, so when the Marquis asks, "What kind of government do you have now?" The narrator says, "I don't know." It was very interesting. It also made me nostalgic for Russia.

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