The LA Phil has put together quite an impressive show spanning the next month and a half. The Shadows of Stalin exhibition showcases films, music and art born out of Russian communist oppression. Tonight and tomorrow two of the most acclaimed recent Russian historical films show at the Arclight.

Burnt by The Sun won the 1995 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Set in an idyllic countryside on the verge of WWII, an ex-Bolshevik officer's family faces Stalin's regime through extremely intimate circumstances. No other recent film has captured Russia's political conflict with as much compassion. Audiences may remember the touching scenes between Sergei, the aging officer, his young wife Mourissa and their 6 year old daughter Nadia as well as the rest of the cast of eccentric family and friends. The delicate balance of power within the family shrewdly shifts when a man from Mourissa's past visits, echoing the transfer of political influence from one generation to the next and its tragic ramifications.

Russian Ark is a mammoth feat of filmmaking. The bi-line explains it all: 2000 cast members, 3 live orchestras, 33 rooms, 300 years of Russian history, all in one take. Russian Ark is truly the only film to accomplish the movie in one take without hidden cuts. Special cameras were made to handle the amount of film and seamlessly blend one take. As for the condensed history lesson, the entirety of the action takes place in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersberg. A cryptic tour guide takes the viewer from room to room, unfolding major events in Russian history by period tableaus. An actress plays Catherine the Great watching an Opera and later we're privy to Czar Nicholas and his children. The main building of the vast Hermitage Museum is in fact the Winter Palace, the Czar's last home and the milestone for the start of the October Revolution. An impressive setting for sure for an impressive cinematic project. Constantly one is asking are the actors recreating historical moments or walking the decadent hallways as ghosts?

Shadows of Stalin Film Festival
Arclight Cinemas

Monday, Apr. 30 7:30pm
Russian Ark
$11.00 general admission

Tuesday, May 1 7:30pm
Burnt by The Sun
$11.00 general admission

Labels: film