> The Admiral
Director: Andrei Kravchuk
Cast: Konstantin Khabenskiy, Elizaveta Boyarskaya, Sergey Bezrukov, Vladislav Vetrov, Anna Kovalchuk, Egor Beroev, Richard Bohringer, Oleg Fomin, Anatoliy Pashinin, Dmitriy Shcherbina, Vladimir Rybaltovs.
Rating: (M)
3 stars (out of 5)
Review by Mark Orton
From the opening salvo, The Admiral leaves you in no doubt that this will be two hours of pure cinema.
The World War 1 naval battle that sets the tone is impressive in a way few war films manage.
At the heart of the drama unfolding on a Russian warship under fire from the Germans is Admiral Alexander Kolchak (Konstantin Khabenskiy), who miraculously steers his troops into safe waters.
Rapidly ascending the Russian naval ranks soon after, he develops an interest in a fellow officer's wife, Anna (Elizaveta Boyarskaya). The dialogue is so dense, subtitles can't hope to keep up.
Before long, it is difficult to figure out any details other than the subversive romantic melodrama.
Normally that would be enough to switch off, but The Admiral is just so amazing to look at that even without the speedy subtitles you would feel compelled to stick with it.
An understanding of Russian history would be a huge asset.
While it is pretty obvious the Admiral and his beautiful mistress will meet again, what happens outside that is a bit of a puzzle.
Apparently, The Admiral was filmed as part of a 10-hour series.
This might explain the awkward shifts between locations and events.
Never mind, the costumes are exquisite, the cinematography unreal and the sound design unparalleled.
The Admiral restores your faith in cinema as spectacle, and if you can figure out what is going on, then great.
Best thing: The mise en scene, one staggeringly good-looking film.
Worst thing: Assumed knowledge. Anyone without an intricate knowledge of the Russian Revolution will be left floundering.
See it with: A Russian/English dictionary. The subtitles are a little hard to read, and don't linger.
