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Obitaemyy.Ostrov.2008.RUS.TS.XviD-ELEKTRI4KA
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0972558/
Waiting for film two, 5 January 2009
Author: gray general from Russian Federation
This attempt at bringing a Strugatski brothers novel to the modern Russian screen is without a doubt a success.
A little about the plot: young explorer Maksim Kammerer crash lands on Sarakhsh, a world enveloped by nebula gasses where people have never seen the stars. The Unknown Fathers, a group of powerful oligarchs, brainwash the population to hate other nations. Kammerer smugly sets out to free the people of Sarahksh.
I wont ramble on - suffice to say that Bondarchuk has done well, considering the sheer scale of the novel. Vasiliy Stepanov (as Maksim Kammerer) is sexy, cool and a blond head taller than his alien companions (a fine nod to the novel and a detail I did not expect). He was also most excellent in the action scenes.
Bondarchuk shines in his portrayal of Umnik (literally the Clever One). I especially enjoyed the scenes of him writhing in agony in the bath. A great performance. I feel compelled, after reading some of the other comments, to say that the novel, like this movie, is often comical...
Direction-wise there are some minor continuity errors and a few places where the pace slows unexpectedly, but the film sticks quite closely to the novel and this may not have been avoidable.
Compared to the 2006 adaptation of Gadkie Lebedi, the film is of course rather crude and soulless - but that would be like comparing a novel by Banks to one by Lem.
I recommend it to everyone and will be waiting for film two (the adaptation can only be truly judged then) and a directors cut of the two together in a nice Hollywood package.
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