The Very Secret Diary of Circe

Russian Ark

Date: 25 October
Time: 4.30am
Listening to: ‘Today’s the Day’ Aimee Mann
Reading: ‘ Griffon Pride’
Writing: Nothing. Zip.


Tonight I went and Saw Russian Ark at the movies. (We had a film festival this week, so our usually 'only hollywood crap' cinema had actual interesting things.) See, I’d been hearing a lot about the movie, and I was going to wait til it showed up on SBS to watch it.

So, mum came in this morning and handed me the list of what was one.

Me: *running into kitchen* Russian Ark!
Mum: Pardon?
Me *poking page* We must see this!
Mum: *reading* you want to see this.
Me: Please stopping making it sound like I’m some kind of heathen
Mum: You are a heathen, Circe. Or have you becoming a Christian all of a sudden?
Me: You know perfectly well what I meant.
Mum: *innocently face*

So, didn’t end up convincing her to come, but luckily her friend Delphie wanted to see it. So we went together.

And I’m so glad I did! God, it was fascinating. I’ve never seen a movie like it before. It doesn’t really have a plot so much. Well, it does. Let me explain for those who don’t know what it is. The catchline for it is 2000 Actors. 300 years of Russian History. 38 Rooms at the Hermitage Museum. 3 Live Orchestras. 1 Single Continuous Shot.

Yep. One long shot. For ninety minutes you are led through the museum, moving through time backwards and forward. You get to witness historical events happening and be in the middle of everything. It feels like a dreamlike journey through the majestic spaces of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, engaging real and imagined characters from Russian and European history.

God, it’s such a hard film to describe, but it was amazing. And the costumes!

I'm really glad that I saw it at the cinema, becuase it gave you this powerful sense that you were IN the movie. Well, not a movie, but that you were the one being led through all these events. You never would have felt that on the TV.

My nano novel is now going to have to have something Russian.

Dammit.

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“He did manage to sort out that plague of frogs.”

“Plague of frog. Singular. There was only the one.”

“It was annoying though.”

-Bagenders

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My Fantasy Novel-
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