polexia

All Forgotten is a period drama, set in 1900's Russia and starring Kirsten Dunst and Nick Stahl. Stahl's character falls in love with next door neighbor Dunst, but she's too busy toying with much older suitors. The men fall at her feet and she loves it, teasing them endlessly and without shame. Stahl as Vladimir loves his dear Zinaida (Dunst) but is emotionally hindered.

There's a second story in the film concerning a young woman with a small son whose husband is away in the war.

I could not tell where this film was supposed to be set for a while because although the names were Russian, everyone spoke with a British accent. The costumes were lovely, and the landscapes beautiful (filmed entirely in the Czech Republic), but Dunst and Stahl, and everyone else is essentially wasted.

None of the vibrancy Stahl brought to his role in Man Without A Face was evident here in his Vladimir. It was almost as if he were simply walking from mark to mark, delivering his lines woodenly and moving on. He looked very preoccupied. Dunst conveyed the airs of a spoiled young girl who had been given too much too soon, but I found it difficult to really care about her. Although Vladimir is is love with Zinaida, there is no chemistry whatsoever between the actors so the characters are always distanced emotionally.

This is a nice film to watch on a very rainy day, but overall it's a disappointment. The plot never really took off, and I found myself at the end of the film still waiting for the film's point to be made.