Night Watch

I was reluctant to see this film for so long.

It was mainly in defiance towards that frantic promotion campaign positioning it as the first ever "unrivalled Russian blockbuster" and "a groundbreaking achievement of the decade".

The soundtrack is annoyingly offered for the cell phones: you saw the movie - now set your ringtone to the Night Watch terrific score!

Now it is allegedly considered as the most possible nominee for the Academy Award, while American either remake or sequel is underway.

A real misfortune of the contemporary Russian cinema is that hardly concealed inferiority complex. Some filmmakers no longer shoot movies just to entertain the moviegoers. They strive with their last bit of strength in pursuit of the ultimate goal: TO MAKE AN EXCEPTIONAL FILM THAT WOULD BLOW UP THE Hollywood.

I don't really much incline to the idea that we are somehow aesthetically and culturally above the rest of the world and that we should obligatory go our own way.

But I'm afraid that the efforts to prove, at any cost, that WE ALSO CAN DO A COOL STUFF with bells and whistles, (at least not worse than the "big guys") may be not exactly the right path to the top.

Well, it's a way better than the arms race, but a work of art falls into somewhat self-sufficient category and shouldn't be an object of that sort of competition.

I believe a film doesn't have to bear a specific nationality. Once it is considered irrespective of the country of origin, and could be valued purely as is, just for it's inner virtues, it may look much more appealing.

To be honest, all that my reasoning, however, refers to the hysteria around the Night Watch, rather than to the film itself.

Unexpectedly to myself, I've bought an occasional (licensed) DivX with the Night Watch just to test MPEG4 capabilities of a DVD player.

And I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. I found it rather atmospheric, gripping and engaging as well as neatly produced. I may say I liked it.

The cast was great, acting - almost impeccable and not over the top (what frequently degrades modern Russian fantasy, sci-fi or action movies). Some dialogues, nevertheless, could have been a bit more articulate.

The cinematography was equally nice - I liked that fancy shooting angles and professional camera-work. Effects were descent and balanced.

The closing titles background song was pretty cool. Frankly I'm not so much enthusiastic about that sort of tiresome music. What is really awesome about the song is its humorous lyrics embracing the entire movie plot.

The idea of the film/book is quite interesting (though not brand new). Numerous dark forces lurk somewhere in a parallel world unseen to unsophisticated humans. Until the time when some of their most villainous representatives would be eager to play with their unsuspecting victims. It is, however, contrary to a certain pact between the good and the evil specifying that both good and evil doings should be controlled and approved by both parties that have established for that reason the respective teams of guardians, the Night Watch and the Day Watch.

Entirely new for the movies with such kind of a pleasant premise is that none has ever got killed, except for a handful of malefactors (like that stoned bloodsucker). Just some pinpoint accurate destructions here and there, minor violence and mild torture. A close-up shot of the finger pinned for a blood sample was the only scene that made my temporal vein twitch of disgust. Menshov's healer-like manipulations with Khabensky's entrails were impressively staged.

A serious drawback of the film is the lack of explanation on some principle points. It's not that the philosophy was too complex for my convolutions. But the coherency of the storytelling was impaired at times. Like certain chunks of the film have been lost among leftovers on the cutting room's floor.

My son, familiar with the Lukyanenko's novel, was giving brief tips in the course of the action, which were conducive to the overall comprehensibility.

Final verdict: not for all tastes, but refreshing and worth watching, at least once.

P.S. Amazingly, the majority of the IMDb positive reviews comes from overseas audience, while the Russian reviewers lash the Night Watch with a scathing sarcasm.

"Night Watch" is far more entertaining than many of its American counterparts in the "secret underground world of vampires and good vs. evil" genre. Unlike "Underworld" and "Constantine" it kept my attention throughout, but still this Russian smash is severely flawed.

First, let's applaud the good parts. "Night Watch" is distinctly Russian. Moscow is presented as a vibrant mix of modern metropolis and Gothic-style throwback to the middle ages. The plot, heavily steeped in its own fabricated mythology from a series of popular books, also serves on some level as an allegory for the fall of Communism and the rise of Capitalism. In my mind, the forces of "dark" forced underground are the Communists, while the forces of "light" (whose HQ is fronted by the City Electric Company) are the Capitalists, who often get caught up in their own bureaucracy in their vain attempts to keep the peace and not violate the truce. Some of the special effects and modern riffs on vampirism are highly imaginative and disarming (I loved "The Gloom" aspect). The American distributors also deserve some credit for their creative use of subtitles which often become part of the scene without ever distracting from the visuals.

Unfortunately, the director is clearly a veteran of music videos, and he makes the action sequences hyper kinetic and often incoherent. When he does manage to create an alluring visual, he quick-cuts, and you wish he would've had the patience to hold some of the shots longer. This hectic visual style is evident in the plotting as well, which clearly is setting up for sequels with the introduction of many characters, though some of the subplots (especially involving the cursed virgin woman and her evil vortex) seemed unnecessary. Likewise, the rushed finale seemed oddly anti-climatic and didn't pack the wallop I feel the filmmakers intended.

Despite the flaws, I will eagerly await the American distribution of the sequels, and I suppose that is the greatest compliment a film like this can receive.

Hundred of years ago, the forces of light and darkness faced each other in a very violent battle on a bridge. In order to avoid the total slaughter, their leaders agree to have an armistice. Along the centuries, the two balanced sides are divided and the forces of light watch and control the vampires, a.k.a. as the forces of night. Among the humans lives "The Others", i.e., persons with supernatural powers including witches, sorcerers and vampires and with the free will to choose which side to join. The legend says that the two forces will be unbalanced by "The Great Other", and the side this powerful being selects will win the battle. In 1992, in Moscow, Anton Gorodetsky (Konstantin Khabensky) joins the forces of the light while hiring a witch for a black magic. In the present days, he faces the consequences of his act.

"Nochnoy Dozor" is an original and refreshing dark tale of the eternal battle in the world, between the good and the evil. The unpredictable story has great special effects and is very engaging, and it is interesting to see how the distinction between good and evil is actually very blurred in the present days. Unfortunately I found the screenplay very confused in spite of having understood the whole plot. Maybe watching a second time, this movie may be better and better. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Guardiões da Noite" ("Guardians of the Night")

I enjoyed this movie quite a lot; if you are into Jeunet-type fantasy, I would recommend that you see it. Overall, I would give it a rating of 7 out of 10. The reason for the Jeunet comparison (e.g. Delicatessen, City of Lost Children) is that it has the same dark antiutopian/surrealistic ambiance to it, and is very imaginative. It is also very elaborate in its style, which lends most of the appeal to the movie. This being said, the biggest disappointment of the movie is the plot, which is overly straightforward and simple-minded, but at least it does not devolve into some technical meaningless psycho-babble as many Hollywood fantasy movies do, and maintains its fairy-tale quality.

It is unfortunate that modern Russian cinematography seems to be chasing the success of Hollywood (which is ironic, given the country's negative attitude towards US in general and Hollywood in particular), but this movie benefits from Hollywood-style special effects, and is free of annoying clichés (unlike the atrociously pretentious "Barber of Siberia" - another recent style-heavy Russian blockbuster; sorry Mikhalkov).

To sum up, this movie is quite original, imaginative, stylish and at times visually stunning, which in my book constitutes success, but don't expect any depth of ideas.

When the forces of light and dark take to battle and realize they are equally strong, decide to make a truce. The people of light will become the Nightwatch, and the people of darkness will become the Daywatch. Neither side can force people to join their side, they have the freedom of choice. The Daywatch and Nightwatch keep tabs to make sure this truce holds.

When Anton finds out he is an other; a person with special powers, he joins the side of light. Anton is a seer and when he is finding a victim of two vampires, he runs into Svetlana, a virgin cursed with bad luck and key into the Apocolpes.

Night Watch is a mind blowing, visually astounding triumph of Russian cinema. Its dark, claustrophobic, grungy and a very thrilling ride. You can see that Timur Bekmambetov has a history in commercials, this moves at a fast paced and the camera doesn't stop moving, with constant fast swoops and always tracking around. The story has been done many times before, but it seems so fresh here. The flaw of the story though is that it's so layered it's hard to understand at first. As it moves at such at fast pace, there isn't much chance to take everything in and to nut everything out. But with all the energy Nightwatch contains, you don't care, cause you'll gladly go again.

For the small budget it had, you wonder how they made this film. You are constantly blown away by the visual effects. They are so flawless. The subtitles are cleverly used as well; they come into a form of their own.

All i can say is i cant wait for the sequels to now make there way over.