Friday, February 18, 2005

Solntse

The Sun. RU/IT/FR/CH (c) 2005 Nikola Film and four other companies. D+SC: Alexander Sokurov. SC: Juri Arabov. Starring Issey Ojata (Emperor Hirohito), Robert Dawson (General MacArthur), Kaori Momoi (The Empress), Shiro Sano. In Japanese and English. 110 min. Very gray digital look, in severely limited monochrome. Released by The Works, German subtitles by Marina Koreneva. In the presence of Aleksandr Sokurov and many of the actors. Viewed at Berlinale-Palast, Berlin Film Festival, 17 Feb 2005. 60 years have gone after the downfall of Emperor Hirohito soon after Hiroshima. In his chamber piece style (Moloch, Taurus) Sokurov explores the epochal change as the Emporer renounces his divine status. The twilight look is not easy on the eye. **

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