Like Kalatozov’s other films, the cinematography is superb. There are a number of sequences that would still be riveting absent any sound just because of how intensely the scenes are shot. Unlike the other films I’ve seen by Kalatozov though, this isn’t a story that deeply affected me. The characters give you just enough to care about them and their struggle to survive but nothing more. Two of the characters are in love, one is longing to return to his wife, and the other guy….well he’s there that’s for sure. There’s a couple of scenes that build up the comradery between these characters as they struggle to find diamonds, but the focus was more so on the group struggling to find diamonds, and then the group struggling to be rescued. Their struggles as a collective was interesting, but with such a small cast, and an extremely simple story, there was definitely room to flesh out the characters as individuals. Often times, I was more wrapped up in the presentation of this story than I was in the story itself, and I did find myself wondering how much I would like this movie if it wasn’t directed as excellently as it was.
Nevertheless, it’s still an effectively intense movie and I can’t pretend like it wasn’t. I just wish I cared a little more about the characters individually.
Like Kalatozov’s other films, the cinematography is superb. There are a number of sequences that would still be riveting absent any sound just because of how intensely the scenes are shot. Unlike the other films I’ve seen by Kalatozov though, this isn’t a story that deeply affected me. The characters give you just enough to care about them and their struggle to survive but nothing more. Two of the characters are in love, one is longing to return to his wife, and the other guy….well he’s there that’s for sure. There’s a couple of scenes that build up the comradery between these characters as they struggle to find diamonds, but the focus was more so on the group struggling to find diamonds, and then the group struggling to be rescued. Their struggles as a collective was interesting, but with such a small cast, and an extremely simple story, there was definitely room to flesh out the characters as individuals. Often times, I was more wrapped up in the presentation of this story than I was in the story itself, and I did find myself wondering how much I would like this movie if it wasn’t directed as excellently as it was.
Nevertheless, it’s still an effectively intense movie and I can’t pretend like it wasn’t. I just wish I cared a little more about the characters individually.
