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RUSSIAN ARK
Directed by Aleksandr Sokurov
As the ending credits rolled down the screen, I could only come up with one thought in my head.
I simply thought to myself, “Well, my mind is blown.” It is so rare that a film will sweep me out of
my seat and immerse me in itself the way RUSSIAN ARK did. This is a great, great movie that is
worthy of all the exaltation it has been given.
Aleksandr Sokurov deserves all the praise in the world for the technical accomplishment that he
achieved. In fact, based on a technical level alone, this film is undoubtedly a masterpiece. It is the
only film in the history of the medium to have been filmed entirely in one take and consisting of
one single shot lasting over 90 minutes, the longest shot in film history. Sokurov deserves even
more adulation for not making this single shot a tedious experience. And he deserves a standing
ovation for generating a film of this nature that is not just a technical exercise, but also a beautiful
piece of art.
RUSSIAN ARK takes place inside and around Russia’s famous St. Petersburg's State Hermitage
Museum. It is shown from the first-person point of view of the narrator, and as the camera, floats
hypnotically through the museum, it follows an unnamed man (Sergei Dreiden), the European
friend of the narrator, as he walks through the museum. Significant characters in Russian history,
such as Peter the Great and Catherine the Great, appear and disappear unexplained throughout
the film, and it becomes more and more obvious that we are in the narrator’s dream.
After a magnificently constructed and fluidly filmed ballroom sequence, during the film’s final
moments the camera moves towards one of the Hermitage’s doors. The door opens and we see
that the museum is surrounded by water. The narrator delivers his final words, “Sir, sir... 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.” As the film fades to black, we realize why Sokurov
decided to name his film RUSSIAN ARK. The title invokes biblical memories of the Old
Testament story of Noah and his family surviving a cataclysmic flood by building an ark to keep
them afloat. What he tells us with the narrator’s last words is that it is Russia’s art and culture that
have kept her alive during all of her hardships, and that she will sail forever. It is one of the most
gratifying endings to a film that I have ever seen.
Andrei Tarkovsky, the greatest of all Russian directors, and possibly the greatest of all of the
world’s directors, was known largely for the long shots in his films that usually lasted minutes at a
time. Obviously Sokurov has one-upped Tarkovsky’s lengthy shots, and I’m sure the master,
were he alive today, would be proud of his fellow countryman.
My Rating: ****
Review by Jared Mills
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