Vsadnik po imeni Smert

By directing "Vsadnik Po Imeni Smert",Mosfilm studio chief Russian director Karen Shaknazarov has made a very different type of film.This is the second time in his cinematographic career that he has chosen history as a theme for his film."Poisons or the World History of Poisoning" was his first film which dealt with a seemingly difficult theme of history in Russian cinema.His earlier films were musical tales and dramas about irrational universes.History is presented in a faithful manner in this film and it is amazing how old worldly charm of Russian capital Moscow has been truthfully delineated especially in the scenes involving crowds.This film is based on a book by famous Russian revolutionary/terrorist Boris Savinkov who was given the title "General of terror" as he made up his mind to eliminate high officials in Russia who were responsible for poor people's miseries.It is true that "The rider named death" has a simplistic theme yet it remains a gripping film as there is a brilliant game of cat and mouse between life and death.The portrayal of women characters essential to the film's progress is little weak as they have been denied enough screen space. This is something which might bother feminine audience of this film. According to Mr.Shaknazarov in the past terrorists killed high officials not ordinary folks but today's terrorists kill ordinary folks.This film was presented at 13th International Film Festival of Kerala,India 2008 where a retrospective of his films was held.