Night Watch

This Russian fantasy movie was highly recommended around the Net, so I had to check it out. I love to find out what kind of story and visual elements are explored outside the Hollywood and in various parts of the world. And sometimes, I hit a jackpot but most of times, it yields so-so results.

It may have been bad subtitle, but I have no idea what story this movie is trying to tell. I can't tell who's who and what's what in this 'complex' tale that is based on best-selling Russain novels. This movie may have been the text case of overly ambitious director's goal to cram in too many things in the movie. KISS and tell, IMO.

The visuals are good here and there, but I feel narrative is clunky, and some 'cutting-edge' edits work but most of time, no. The movie jumps around places and people so much that without recogniable faces (ie stars) that ground the story, I have trouble understanding what's going on even if the fate of the world is hanging in balance by these people. Considering the director has mostly worked with commercials, you can come to an explanation for my points. Maybe I'll check out the original novels instead, but then again, I don't think so considering my backlog of books. Oh well, at least I know the great Russian cinema is vibrantly alive with this movie.