Broken subs made this a pretty trying watch. Unlike past films with subpar subtitles, this not only features an immense amount of dialogue, but also a plethora of hyper specific cultural conversation. I was basically lost the entire time.
The film is not as visually dynamic as I’ve come to love from Ilyenko, although there is a significant tradeoff in the recreation of this time period. As much as I felt disconnected from this, the movie almost feels completely worth it simply for the wedding ceremony and feast scenes. The costuming is pretty great and the overall set design gets epic at times.
There were quite a few visual parallels to Andrei Rublev. The pagans in the forest clearly evoking the pagan fesitval. Similarly, the a concluding shot of the interior chamber is stark white like the interior chapel. There’s even a Greek character! Nothing in the film came close to the transcenence of Andrei, but at least it looked nice.
I imagine if I ever saw this again with proper subs, my enjoyment would rise. There was at least one moment in part 2 (which I liked more overall) that I wish I properly understood what was said. However, even with the compromised subs, I still found the film a bit visually underwhelming.
Broken subs made this a pretty trying watch. Unlike past films with subpar subtitles, this not only features an immense amount of dialogue, but also a plethora of hyper specific cultural conversation. I was basically lost the entire time.
The film is not as visually dynamic as I’ve come to love from Ilyenko, although there is a significant tradeoff in the recreation of this time period. As much as I felt disconnected from this, the movie almost feels completely worth it simply for the wedding ceremony and feast scenes. The costuming is pretty great and the overall set design gets epic at times.
There were quite a few visual parallels to Andrei Rublev. The pagans in the forest clearly evoking the pagan fesitval. Similarly, the a concluding shot of the interior chamber is stark white like the interior chapel. There’s even a Greek character! Nothing in the film came close to the transcenence of Andrei, but at least it looked nice.
I imagine if I ever saw this again with proper subs, my enjoyment would rise. There was at least one moment in part 2 (which I liked more overall) that I wish I properly understood what was said. However, even with the compromised subs, I still found the film a bit visually underwhelming.
