Russian Ark
by Aleksander Sokurov, RUS 2002, 96 min

This auteur film is a journey through three centuries of Russian history and European art that is visually full of surprises and technically highly impressive. Alexander Sokurov, who has received numerous awards for his documentaries and films, plays the role of the protagonist, a cynical French marquis. Seeing things through his eyes, the viewer is taken through the world famous collection of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, bringing to life historical characters such as Czar Nicholas II. Great events, such as the commotion of the world wars, are staged in the mirror image of collections of paintings and sculptures. Sokurov produced the entire film, including scenes with up to 2000 actors, using a single shot, in one long cinematic pan, without a single alteration during the cutting. The camera alone is the artistic challenge in this opulent work.