☆ NOCHNOY DOZOR + SERENITY
yesterday afternoon and evening i went and saw nochnoy dozor (night watch) and serenity.
the storyline of nochnoy dozor was no masterpiece, everyone seems to have taken a stab at light vs dark narratives, but this worked quite well. they made the underlying theme of good vs evil (or arguably light vs dark since its obvious that neither 'side' are good or evil) very obvious - "For as long as humanity has existed, there have been "Others" among us; Witches, Vampires and Shape-Shifters who are soldiers in the eternal war between Light and Dark." - but what is important is the porting of that storyline into a modern environment and the way the characters negotiate the blurred lines of good and evil in contemporary culture.
visually the film was a treat. the entire film is in a slightly saturated hew which gives it that shadowy yet crisp look ala matrix-style. there are so many beautifully constructed shots – everything from sweeping city-scapes to close ups and detail shots. a couple of shots in particular left me in awe. one shot, where the main character, anton's son is in the gloom (a sort of transient state/realm between physical and metaphysical with the 'Others' or light and dark can exist in for short periods giving them the seeming ability to disappear among other things) and it begins to consume him, his eyes go red and he faints and whisps of red smoke trace an outline of his path. so hott.
keep your eyes open for the point at which he offers his blood to the gloom. tiny droplets of blood smattered across a crystaline structure. woah! the red subtitles at specific parts of the film that disapate like blood are brilliant too! the closing scene on top of an apartment block is lush. a completely blacked out setting lit only by a fluro light that anton is carrying.
one thing i was really happy about was that it was still in russian. when most films like this hit mainstream cinemas they are dubbed which shits me. the soundtrack is hott too.
now with serenity: don't get me wrong, i love a good girl-kick-butt style film - and it was hardly unexpected given the film was by the creators of buffy and angel but still - the film even struggled to do that. the kick butt girl (riva) only really did her stuff twice, and once was by accident. during the rest of the film she is a bit of a lunatic.
the captain bugged me. the operative was kinda cool in that i'm-so-cool-and-collected-i-don't-even-n
i did find the underlying slag-off at christianity amusing in the film however. the pursuit for ultimate perfection (being free from sin) was great, especially when they explain the adverse side affects to conditioning people to be such. either people became passive and stopped existing (ie stopped doing anything including eating) or they turned into hyper-aggressive mobs who killed anyone left alive. that's where religion will get you kids.
overall the film just kinda didn't sit right. but it's ok to see with your older brother on a tuesday night when you're bored.
x-posted on vibewire blog
the storyline of nochnoy dozor was no masterpiece, everyone seems to have taken a stab at light vs dark narratives, but this worked quite well. they made the underlying theme of good vs evil (or arguably light vs dark since its obvious that neither 'side' are good or evil) very obvious - "For as long as humanity has existed, there have been "Others" among us; Witches, Vampires and Shape-Shifters who are soldiers in the eternal war between Light and Dark." - but what is important is the porting of that storyline into a modern environment and the way the characters negotiate the blurred lines of good and evil in contemporary culture.
visually the film was a treat. the entire film is in a slightly saturated hew which gives it that shadowy yet crisp look ala matrix-style. there are so many beautifully constructed shots – everything from sweeping city-scapes to close ups and detail shots. a couple of shots in particular left me in awe. one shot, where the main character, anton's son is in the gloom (a sort of transient state/realm between physical and metaphysical with the 'Others' or light and dark can exist in for short periods giving them the seeming ability to disappear among other things) and it begins to consume him, his eyes go red and he faints and whisps of red smoke trace an outline of his path. so hott.
keep your eyes open for the point at which he offers his blood to the gloom. tiny droplets of blood smattered across a crystaline structure. woah! the red subtitles at specific parts of the film that disapate like blood are brilliant too! the closing scene on top of an apartment block is lush. a completely blacked out setting lit only by a fluro light that anton is carrying.
one thing i was really happy about was that it was still in russian. when most films like this hit mainstream cinemas they are dubbed which shits me. the soundtrack is hott too.
now with serenity: don't get me wrong, i love a good girl-kick-butt style film - and it was hardly unexpected given the film was by the creators of buffy and angel but still - the film even struggled to do that. the kick butt girl (riva) only really did her stuff twice, and once was by accident. during the rest of the film she is a bit of a lunatic.
the captain bugged me. the operative was kinda cool in that i'm-so-cool-and-collected-i-don't-even-n
i did find the underlying slag-off at christianity amusing in the film however. the pursuit for ultimate perfection (being free from sin) was great, especially when they explain the adverse side affects to conditioning people to be such. either people became passive and stopped existing (ie stopped doing anything including eating) or they turned into hyper-aggressive mobs who killed anyone left alive. that's where religion will get you kids.
overall the film just kinda didn't sit right. but it's ok to see with your older brother on a tuesday night when you're bored.
x-posted on vibewire blog
