manya7-1

Yikes! Just watched it in Russian. Fortunately I speak enough Russian to understand the voice-over; wish they had kept it in the original English and just added Russian subtitles. Kretschmann, Bruhl, Farmiga and Press all give excellent performances; Evegeny Mironov does the most amazing "silent" performance since his Russian version of Kafka's "Metamorphosis". I have no doubt that anti-German sentiment was running high in 1946 in Leningrad; nevertheless, surely there was some hope or ray of sunshine in all the gloom. I am beginning to understand why this film was not marketed in America. Unless you lived through those times, or are a student of history, the subject matter of this film may not have much appeal. Still, for you history buffs out there, don't miss some fine acting in this film.

It would be hard for a film version to do justice to the book "Azazel": in my opinion the best of the Fandorin series, although "Death of Achilles" ranks a close second. The period costumes are enjoyable, as are the characterizations of Brilling, Bezhetskaya, Liza and especially Lady Adair. The actor portraying Fandorin, unfortunately, falls a little short of the mark--however, a larger than life character is hard to cast correctly.

For once, the film follows the book (thank you, Mr. Akunin, for the script). Those who complain about the length of the film need to realize that this was originally a TV serial, each segment running 48 minutes as most serials do on Russian TV.

Not the best it could have been, but definitely a warm-up for IMO, the best Russian serial of all time: "The Idiot"----a must see for anyone. Fortunately, the Idiot has subtitles in English, but the language is so beautiful (the 19th century idiom is delightful), one must listen carefully to appreciate.

It will be interesting to see what Hollyweird does with "Azazel" in 2009. Milla Jovovich as Bezhetskaya: inspired casting choice!

It's not the best of films, nor the worst of films: interesting premise, but highly Hollywood-derivative. Still, the taiga is a unique setting and it was amusing to see talented dramatic actors take on action hero roles (Mashkov more successfully than Mironov, methinks).

From a woman's standpoint, the best part of the film is admiring Vladimir Mashkov's buff body, especially from the back. My, my---let's see more of it someday! I realized this film was going to be trash when I started watching it, but sometimes trash can be amusing. The violent scenes were a turnoff, but grudgingly necessary to the plot.

Overall, a B film. If you have nothing better to do, it's not a total waste of nearly two hours. In my opinion, Mashkov and Mironov should stick to better roles which highlight their tremendous dramatic talents (IMO, The Idiot, a Russian TV mini-series starring both of them, ranks as one of the finest films I have seen, ever.)