Night Watch
Nochnoi Dozor
Highly anticipated, we waited eagerly for two years to see Night Watch after first hearing about it. Russia, not wanting to be left behind by the U.S. and Japan in creating creepy cool horror films that keep people up (talking or shuddering, depending on your tolerance level), has given us this first in a trilogy of films. Basically there are three kinds of people, regular people, light people, and dark people. The light and dark people start out like you and me, but then they cross over, and become…More. Of course, regular people have no idea about the other two. True to their names, the light and dark people are in conflict. Basically, Night Watch is the movie that Constantine really wanted to be (not that it was bad). Both are successful in their missions - Constantine is definitely more Biblically oriented and Night Watch transcends any specific creed’s mythology - but the end result for Night Watch is decidedly different.
Knowing full well that acceptance in the U.S. would be a huge boon for this film, the filmmakers did two brilliant things. First, they gave the narrator an accent, rather than dubbing in an American or even British voice over, which lent the whole film-viewing experience a sense of being part of its culture, rather than outside it with namby-pamby subtitles. Second, the subtitles themselves were sinous, alive, fascinating, and incorporated into the scenes as organically as if they were part of the narrative. Fading into smoke, slipping along surfaces, fading in and out, moving all over the screen, the subtitles simultaneously reminded you of their presence and blended into the whole look and feel of the film. I personally have to be in a certain mood to watch a subtitled movie in a movie theatre with seats made out of old kitchen utensils, but Night Watch had me as hooked as if I were sitting on a plush couch watching a movie in my native language.
The camera work as well is always moving, and not in an ER/CSI kind of way. It dips in and out of scenes, in and out of focus, keeping your eyes moving (and yet never so much that you can’t follow the subtitles) and your heart racing. The effect is a terrific drawing-in that I’ve never experienced before. It felt organic and exciting. The actors exhibit intense, fierce physicality - no Puritanical shame or restraint, just passion and feeling. The whole movie feels weird, but just right. You almost feel like you can touch and smell the scene as well as watch it, so effectively is everything melded. Even the ending, which could be written off as dumb or weird, somehow works, it isn’t dumb, it isn’t weird, it just is. It’s just right.
A concept is introduced in the film (but not explained - explanations would ruin the best bits of the movie) called the Gloom. It’s a sort of other place that these Light and Dark people can go, but not stay. The closest thing I can think of to explain the Gloom is that misty world that Frodo goes to when he puts on the ring - but it’s not really like that, either. Night Watch is very, very different, but very compelling and delicious, and I hope you get a chance to see it.
MPAA Rating R - strong violence, disturbing images and language.
Release date 2/17/06
Time in minutes 115
Director Timour Bekmambetov
Studio Fox Searchlight
