RUSSIAN ARK

This German-Russian co-production by Aleksandr Sokurov is a costume film of the special kind, shot without editing, an essayjourney through the Russian and European culture of the past three centuries. In the early 17th century courtiers and ladies from the high society, officers, and members of the court meet in the Czar’s former “Winter Palace” in St. Petersburg, the storming of which started the October revolution in 1917 and which nowadays accommodates the art museum “Eremitage“. The film’s narrator, who remains invisible throughout, and a French diplomat, both of whom have been moved to this place from other centuries in strange ways, are meeting great personalities from history here. While the narrator cannot be seen by the people present as well, the diplomat moves among the figures sprung from the pages of history books as if it was the most natural thing in the world. A blind woman guides him through the impressive collection of paintings and sculptures. He meets Catherine the Great as well as Czar Nicolas with his wife Alexandra and their children. The narrator and the diplomats take turns in providing short commentaries about the history and culture of the European world.