I rented this film mostly out of curiosity and to see what I might learn from it, as far as cinematography and just to look at how the film was put together overall. I had read good things about it, so I was at least game to try it out. To be honest, I wasn't necessarily expecting it to be enjoyable. After all, it's not a period of history I'm particularly fond of, and to read the synopsis, you just know it's going to be a little slow, and probably a bit of work to get through. It turned out to be both of those things, but for some reason, I found myself enjoying it anyway, and before you know it, I was watching it again.

    The story is relatively simple, as is most of the dialogue; the movie basically follows a guy around the Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg and as you enter each room, you see different phases of Russian history taking place in the flesh. The narrarator (whose eyes we are looking out of throughout the film) and his companion, an 18th century French marquis, are mostly unnoticed by the people they are observing, although there are some interactions. But mostly we get a tour of the museum with the marquis providing commentary and insight. While the movie is about Russian history, it also illustrates the strange variety of Franco-Russian relations over the years. Sokurov's portrayal of these relations shows that while Russians are fiercely proud of their culture, they still can admire and sometimes even emulate European culture, while Europe tends to vacillate between arrogance and an amused patronizing of their eastern neighbors.
    In the end, the message seems to be that the three hundred years' history contained in the Hermitage museum represents, perhaps not a golden age, but some of the high points of Russian history and culture, and as Russian society sails through the turbulence of the present and future of our world, trying to reinvent themselves post-communism (and in the midst of terrorism and a resurgent authoritarianism), this ark and these highpoints contain the seeds of renewal for whatever good may come next.
    As for the production values of this film, the images are calm and beautiful throughout. The movie was filmed in one complete 96-minute take with a single high definition steadicam, which gives you the sensation of floating through the museum, like a ghost. The lighting is at turns warm and cool, and very believable. The sound design is lush, with big empty rooms that echo and reverberate the way only a big, empty room with wood or marble floors can. The music matches the rest of the film; it is serene, soft, joyful, sentimental, romantic, and sad.
    Overall, I'd have to say that I highly recommend this film. If you don't like slow movies with subtitles and history you're not familiar with, don't bother, unless your sense of adventure outweighs those. But if you've ever found yourself wandering around a chilly art/culture/history museum in Europe, or would like to, you should definitely check it out. You'll feel right at home.

      

    This is a map made by Jeff, one of the guys that went with us on our Hejaz Railway excursion last year. This was our proposed itinerary, but it ended up changing a bit. The Day 1 leg is actually Jeff, Doc, and Chris coming from Riyadh to meet me, Kent, and Mike in Medina (we were coming up from Jeddah, which was 'home' for us). A little context for those that are lost here; Kent's my brother-in-law; he's an infantry officer in the U.S. Army and he was the one I went to Saudi to visit. The other guys are all Army officers as well. They all had jobs there for a year advising various parts of the Saudi military. You couldn't ask for a better crew of guys to go exploring the history of a semi-hostile foreign nation with.
    So, Day 1 had us camping just a few miles outside of Medina, on Day 2 we camped somewhere around the Wayban or Tuwayrah train stops (I don't recall exactly which; I'll have to double check that one. All I remember is, it was in the middle of nowhere, with some great red mountains that were made of a gnarled, weathered lava rock that was murder on tires.)
    Day 3 saw us make it through Al Ula and Mada'in Salah, and we stopped for the night somewhere in the vicinity of the Mutalla station, on a vast flat plain, with our camp behind one of the only hills to be found. Day 4 was a long, tooth-rattling day along the rail bed, through lava plains with small, knife-sharp rocks and gravel that were at various times red, gray, or black, and then the pumice would give way to hard-packed dry lake beds, and some stretches of sweeping dunes. On the last stretch before we came to a real paved road again, the rail bed threaded its way in and out of a Saudi military firing range. Needless to say, everyone's eyes were peeled for any unexploded ordinance that might have been laying around, or worse yet, a barrage of live rounds. Finally we made it to Tabuk, where we stayed at a western housing compound (I think it was mainly British oil workers and military types) in some of their guest villas. One of Kents's Army buddies from their days at the Armor Officer Advanced Course hooked us up with the villas. By the way, remind me to tell the story of Kent's and my airborne "onramp" experience sometime. Good times.
    On Day 5, we went back down to Mada'in Salah via a much faster paved highway, and managed to squeeze in the Nabatean ruins there before the sun went down. For those not familiar with the Nabateans, they're the ones who built the city of Petra in Jordan, which was featured prominently at the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. That night we camped near a huge elephant-shaped rock a few miles down the road from the Nabatean ruins, much to the chagrin of the officials there. They were either worried for our safety camping out in the open, or thinking that we might think them inhospitable. They really, really wanted us to stay in one of the local hotels, but we really enjoyed camping out under the stars, especially near something as cool as the Mammoth (or Elephant Rock as it's also known). That night as we assembled skewers with shrimp, goat, peppers and onions for our bbq, a rain storm blew through to the south of us, giving us front row seats to a brilliant display of lightning, and the rain gave the air a refreshing humidity and a sweet scent.
    On Day 6, we made one last stop in Al Ula, so that we could take a picture of the one train station that we had missed on the way through the first time. We had only intended to do a drive-by and then hit the road for the long trip back down to Jeddah, but as we pulled out to leave, some guys from the house across the muddy road from the station and the mosque stopped us and invited us into their tent for some tea and coffee. We hesitated at first, as we had a lot driving to do (and we'd done an awful lot of it already that week), but they were insistent that we come inside and experience some genuine Saudi hospitality. We spent an enjoyable hour with them, and then it was back on the road and home to Jeddah. So that was just a brief synopsis of our Hejaz Railway trip. I've left a lot out, like more cross-cultural experiences, history of the Hejaz Railway, etc. Don't worry, we'll get to that. Time allowing, I'll be posting all the stories bit by bit.

    Be sure to check out any photos I post, because a lot of them will have captions/commentary, etc.

So anyway, this is my blog. Nothing to say yet, just trying to figure out how this thing works. What can you expect to find here? At first, I'll probably just post some photos from my Saudi Arabia trip, and maybe some stories as well. When inspiration strikes, I may write on some important topic or other. Likely I will include updates on whatever creative projects I'm involved in, such as music, film, or what have you. Mostly, I just want this to be a place where friends and family that are scattered all over the world can use to keep in touch with me, wherever I might be. So check in from time to time, and I should have stuff up here for you to read/look at/mock/disparage, etc.

Ok, folks, I need some suggestions for a name for this blog. post away...