Zlatica Hoke

The movie would be quite good if it did not drag. Every sceen is stretched to the maximum and goes on forever. For example: the boy running after a coach in an effort to return a pocket watch that a visitor had left behind. Then the liutenant repeating: how did we get here, then the attempts to take a group photo….every scene is at least 3 minutes too long. So the main message of the movie - that the White Army and the Russian upper class was either clueless or too lazy - is watered down. In the end you just want the agony to end. I can’t understand why anyone would hope to earn an academy award nomination for such a movie.

One of the best movies I’ve seen in recent years. At more than 3-hrs-long it’s not easy to sit through, but it never drags. Like Murakami’s book (and it’s based on his writing) it’s full of surprises. It starts with a good look into the marriage of two theater artists, who appear to be in a close and loving relationship. Glimpses into their intimacy hint at a sinister touch below the surface. To tell anything more would be spoiling the subtle flow of revelations into the movie’s many individuals and their analogy with iconic characters from the classic literature. It is amazing to watch the Japanese actors express so much with what appear to be expressionless faces. A movie that will make you think and reread one of the greatest pieces of the 19th century theater.

I don’t know where all the hype about Kristen Stewart’s portrayal of Diana comes from. She is annoying, repetitive and cold. To watch her agonizing for two hours evokes boredom, not sympathy. Charles looked like death warmed over. The other actors were not so bad if one could see more of them. The only things of interest for me in the movie were interior decor and scenes of nature.

The movie is beautifully filmed, the acting good and the story close enough to the original source. But its sound engineer should be fired. All the characters speak in slurred, muffled and blurred voices, hoarse whispers or growls, which are impossible to understand. So if you are not familiar with the Arturian story of Sir Gawaine and the Green Night you won’t have a clue what’s going on. Perhaps it was the theater’s fault, but I have seen many movies in that theater and never had this problem. We asked other movie goers if they understood what was said and they said no. They blamed the director for trying to be “ too clever”. I hope the movie reappears on Netflix with subtitles so we can actually see what was said. What a pity to ruin what otherwise might be an interesting take on the ancient myth.

The plot is intriguing enough to keep your attention, but even more so the likeable actors, gorgeous period costumes and opulent interior decor. My problem was that a lot of developments were predictable and having to watch them play out was tedious. The scene where villanous husband threatens to burn his wife in revenge goes on forever, while she screams. The police are in the house and can hear her so why don’t they come up running? And I especially hated “the last minute” salvations, the kind that are regularly overdone in movies like this one and don’t contribute any value. If the total footage were edited down to 5 or at the most 6 episodes, it would be a most impactful mini series.