Russian Ark 2002

type: Movie

language: Russian

duration: 99 min

genre: historical

theme: ghost

director: Alexander Sokurov

Score: 6 / 10

Russian Ark is a 2002 experimental historical drama film directed by Alexander Sokurov. The plot follows an unnamed narrator, who wanders through the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, and implies that he died in some horrible accident and is a ghost drifting through. In each room, he encounters various real and fictional people from various periods in the city's 300-year history. He is accompanied by "the European", who represents the Marquis de Custine, a 19th-century French traveler.

Plot

On a winter's day, a small party of men and women arrive by horse-drawn carriage to a minor side entrance of the Winter Palace, dressed in the style of the early 19th century to attend a ball hosted by the Emperor Alexander I. The narrator (whose point of view is always in first-person) meets another spectral but visible outsider, "the European", and follows him through numerous rooms of the palace. "The European", a 19th-century French diplomat who appears to be the Marquis de Custine, has nothing but contempt for Russians; he tells the narrator that they are unable to create or appreciate beauty as "Europeans" do, as demonstrated by the European treasures around him. Each room manifests a different period of Russian history, although the periods are not in chronological order.

Awards

Nika award for the best work of the artist Costume

Cast

More details

author	Alexander Sokurov Anatoli Nikiforov Svetlana Proskurina
award	Nika award for the best work of the artist Costume
contentLocation	Saint Petersburg
director	Alexander Sokurov
editor	Betina Kuntzsch Patrick Wilfert Sergei Ivanov Stefan Ciupek
events	history of Russia time travel
genre	drama fantasy historical mystery
keywords	1913 19th century 900-day siege alexander griboyedov alexander i of russia build catherine the great child emperor alexander i family life fath-ali shah qajar id jordan staircase of the winter palace joseph stalin khosrow mirza leningrad marquis de custine mikhail glinka neva nicholas hall nicholas i of russia nicholas ii of russia nothing perspective peter the great point of view river river neva romanov tercentenary russian history russian imperial guard siege of leningrad strike the grand staircase the imperial guard the shah of persia tsar nicholas i tsar nicholas ii whisper world war ii
musicBy	Sergei Yevtushenko
nomination	European Film Award for Best Cinematographer European Film Award for Best Director
producer	Andrey Deryabin Jens Meurer Karsten Stöter
productionCompany	Seville Pictures
publisher	Wellspring Media
theme	avant-garde and experimental ghost