I promised not to watch any more of the Russian movies and managed to escape them for some time now. Until today. “Nochnoy Dozor” has been widely advertised in Russia and there was a lot of hype about it. Some people were even weighting it as an answer to Hollywood. My own mother wanted me to watch it. The copy of the film was available on the net, so I decided to see it.
This film sucks. Yes, it is better than many other films. It might be one of the best films from Russia for the last few years. But it still sucks. The biggest problem I have with this movie is the same as with all the other Russian films of the last 10 years or so – greyness, sadness, and depression. It has so much of negative energy that I had troubles focusing on the actual content of the film. Most movies (at least the ones similar to this) use contrast to strongly separate good and bad characters – good characters are usually surrounded by joy and happiness and bad characters are surrounded by spider nets, bats, and other creepy stuff. This film, on the other hand, is totally dark and grey. Good characters look like they have been drinking for a couple of weeks before the shooting. City scenes are dirty. People in the crowd and subway are angry. Blah blah blah. Yuck.
So, now once again I have to say – this was the last Russian-made movie that I watched. Enough is enough.
Ok, you didn’t like this Russian movie.
Do you have any favorite Russian films?
[1] Sure thing I do. "DMB", for example, was all about ugliness, stupidity, and graynes of the Russian army. But it was properly done. "Siberian Barber" by Mikhalkov was pretty good too. There are few others.
There were a lot of excellent films made during the Soviet period, but that is all another story.
I am very ignorant when it comes to Russian cinema. This film, however, has been highly recommended. I had planned to write an essay comparing this work with the “Matrix” trilogy, in terms of philosophical content. Both films have attracted serious philosophical analysis. After reading your review, I am having second thoughts. I will see it and then get back to you on whether I agree with your harsh assessment.
Nice blog.
Juan,
If you want to learn the philosophy behind the film, I can recommend to read the book that the movie was based instead. I’ve heard much more positive reviews of the book than about the film.
Anyway, I’m not trying to stop anyone from watching the film. At the end of the day, everyone should have their opinions. But what I am saying that in my opinion watching this film is a waste of time. There are better things to do. Those include watching better films. :)
If you still will decide to watch it, I would be very interested in your opinion on the subject. Please, drop me a line.