I'm not sure if it was the specificity of the history or what, but I found this to be Ilyenko's most impenetrable yet. My connection to the film fluctuated in strength throughout. At times I was enthralled, fully in its grip. Other times I felt disconnected. The end, too, dips its toe too far into the hyper nationalist sentiment I dislike.
Of course, as I've come to expect, any Ilyenko joint is going to bless the viewer with some of the greatest shots in cinema. Early on, we get a sequence of consecutive shots all iterating the protagonist (a messianic-looking character) on the figurative precipice of madness. The final shot (~4:30) strongly recalls the painting The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog.
I'm not sure if it was the specificity of the history or what, but I found this to be Ilyenko's most impenetrable yet. My connection to the film fluctuated in strength throughout. At times I was enthralled, fully in its grip. Other times I felt disconnected. The end, too, dips its toe too far into the hyper nationalist sentiment I dislike.
Of course, as I've come to expect, any Ilyenko joint is going to bless the viewer with some of the greatest shots in cinema. Early on, we get a sequence of consecutive shots all iterating the protagonist (a messianic-looking character) on the figurative precipice of madness. The final shot (~4:30) strongly recalls the painting The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog.
