Wojna i pokój: Rok 1812

There are a lot of things that can be said about Bondarchuk, but no one can call him a minimalist, that’s for sure. Last time we didn’t leave the “chamber" environment of the Russian cream of the crop and this time we won’t leave the Borodino Front. The dynamics and the conception of the crowed scenes were shot on such a high level of quality that even today it shoos off western production into a dark corner of a dilapidated Russian dacha. And it’s not just because of the ten thousand extras and a fact that every rouble can be seen and heard several times over. The camerawork is spotless as usual. Its skill in painting unforgettable canvases would leave even the Dutch masters green with envy. In the second phase of the battle Bondarchuk went berserk. Even in his terms. He succumbed to megalomania never seen on a silver screen before. And shot something with such appeal that it has the “I’ll play that scene one last time and then I’ll go to bed" effect. So even if this part is the shortest of the whole tetralogy it takes in fact the longest time to watch it because of it. On the other hand there is nothing happening in this episode, because the plot doesn’t move on at all and only one character goes through any evolution. (29.09.2008)