Overview
With its iconic steps sequence and distinctive use of montage, 1925 Soviet-made movie Battleship Potemkin changed the way the world thought about film. Making enduring efforts such as Solaris and Stalker, Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky also achieved the same feat during the '60s and '70s. And in 2003, roaming historical drama Russian Ark did too courtesy of a single 96-minute take. Yep, this was more than a decade before Birdman tried something similar.
They're just some of the highlights of Russian film history, and there's more where they came from. In fact, that's the domain of the Russian Resurrection Film Festival, which brings future classics and beloved greats alike to Australian cinema screens for an annual celebration of Russian movie making.
In its thirteenth year, the fest has curated a collection of twenty efforts that showcase just what makes the country's film output so stellar. Whether you're keen on diving into a duelling epic, going swashbuckling with a beloved animated pirate, or catching a glimpse of uncompleted relics from the past, you'll find plenty to watch here — plus our five must-see picks, of course.
FLIGHT CREW
Flight Crew falls into the disaster film genre — on account of its content, not its quality or performance. In fact, it's the number one movie at the Russian box office this year, as well as one of the top six of all time. Audiences sure do love watching efforts about earthquakes, volcanoes and trouble on planes, after all, and this one has all three. It's actually a remake of a 1979 Russian blockbuster disaster movie of the same name, because constantly rehashing the past isn't limited to English-language flicks, but boy oh boy does it sound entertaining.
THE STUDENT
Not every film is going to appeal to every member of the audience, but most people can recognise ambition when they see it. And that's the case with The Student, which some viewers will love and others won't — but honestly, it's genuinely hard to not be enthralled by director Kirill Serebrennikov's visual, thematic and storytelling confidence. Adapting a controversial play, he tells the tale of a teenager who starts questioning everything from his classmates swimming costumes to his biology teacher's lessons as he becomes more and more immersed in religion. The end result certainly got Cannes talking, and it's completely different to any other high school-set film you're likely to come across.
ICEBREAKER
You can probably count on one hand the number of movies you've seen about a ship striking an iceberg. Actually, to be precise, you can probably count it on one finger. Without a floppy-haired Leo in sight (or Celine Dion's warbling in earshot), Icebreaker might just join the fold as it recounts the real-life exploits surrounding a boat in 1985. Or, it might skirt the obvious and plunge into other polar catastrophes. You'll have to watch to find out, however, the film is made by the same folks behind train-based disaster flick Metro from 2013. That effort was cheesy and cliched, sure, but isn't that what disaster flicks are meant to be?
MOSCOW NEVER SLEEPS
An Irish filmmaker heads to Moscow with Moscow Never Sleeps — though that's the story behind the movie, rather than the movie itself. In his second Russian-made feature, writer/director Johnny O'Reilly dives into the nation's capital through the antics of five different people going about their daily lives over a 24-hour period. Yep, just about everywhere you can think of boasts a film like this (or a few), but there's a reason that they keep popping up. How better to get a glimpse into the reality of another city and country than through overlapping, intertwined narratives?
ALEXANDER NEVSKY
A word of warning: this historical drama clocks in at over three hours. But, unlike most lengthy efforts you see at the cinemas these days, there's not a superhero, hobbit or transforming car on screen. Instead, Alexander Nevsky hails from 1938, marks the first sound film directed by Battleship Potemkin's Sergei Eisenstein, is based on a real Russian prince, and has been named among the best movies ever made. As far as really getting a glimpse of the full scope of Russian filmmaking is concerned, there's nothing in the program like it.
The Russian Resurrection Film Festival tours the country from October 27, screening at Sydney's Event Cinemas George Street Sydney and Event Cinemas Burwood from October 27 to November 5, Brisbane's Event Cinemas Myer Centre from November 2 to 9, and Melbourne's Australian Centre for the Moving Image from November 10 to 16. For more information, visit the festival website.