I bought the film to watch it Sunday evening with my family. I like Chadov and the review of the film didn't sound that bad, but I found the film truly embarrassing. Not only it is deadly boring, it's been put together by amateurs. Even if it was targeted at young children, I'd doubt you'll find a child who will sit to the middle of this movie. A number of factual mistakes in geography, history, costume, culture etc contributed to me hating the film. Top tip, skip the film and don't waste your time. Yet if you were so unfortunate to have watched the film already, could you tell me what was the dead talking Chinese doll all about?
4 Reviews
Good story
isamat9415 April 2006
All those who love beautiful story, not just children, have to see that indie movie. The movie is entertaining for any age. The young Russian actor, Alekseï Chadov (who also plays in Night Watch )is very good and you will love the little horse. More, you will discover the unknown part of Russia and its variety of Asian peoples with their own customs (played by good unknown and, maybe no-professional actors). You will make a wonderful trip through Sideria, see amazing landscapes and learn a lot about Russian even if the story is in XIX century. This story is also a little Russian history. In conclusion, a good movie for all the family!
Plain bad
zipirovich20 October 2008
The only reason I am giving more than one star to this movie is because there are even worse movies out there. Which does not mean that there is anything good about this one -- there isn't. I had seen Alexei Chadov before in other films, and he is (or was?) such a good young actor that his name alone drew to me this one. What a huge disappointment! There is no acting in this film whatsoever, not on Chadov's nor on anybody else's part. Acting is bad, directing is bad, the whole setup is entirely wrong in most details. Everything is so false. Boring, bad, horrible movie. I truly regret that I wasted my time watching this, and I strongly urge to stay away from it - this movie is not worth watching it.
Mediocre
J_J_Gittes18 January 2011
Warning: Spoilers
If one can believe IMDb, this is only the fifth feature-length film by director Joel Farges since 1979, who seems to be better known for his production work (producer of "Le chignon d'Olga" (2002), and co-producer of "Zhantai" (2000)). While he may have won some awards for his short films in the 80s, I must say that "Serko" isn't a testament to his skills as a filmmaker.
The film is a fairy-tale set in 19th century Russia, featuring a young Cossack who starts on a journey to the czar after his tribe has been unfairly treated by some functionaries of the Russian army. On his 10000 kilometers long journey through the Russian Empire, he meets many people and faces many dangers, after which the timid boy will have become a man as well as a national celebrity.
This is basically the plot in a nutshell of a film which is at 98 minutes clearly too short for an epic saga of such proportions, but still feels often too long. Meant as a film primarily for children, I can't exactly imagine them to grasp the rather complex topic. The film has many shortcomings, most notably with the direction, which often feels arbitrary in its choice of scenes, and at worst totally pointless, when you sometimes start to doubt that there was any focused directorial involvement at all. Farges rarely knows how to dramatize the material, which leads to a film with acute pacing problems. He is also often merely photographing the exotic landscape and its people, making the viewer feel like he is watching a rehearsal and a travelogue rather than a narrative feature. The main actor is rather dull and uninvolving and often looks pale in comparison with some of the supporting actors. And having made the film with a digital camera doesn't help to achieve a cinematic effect either (at which the cinematography desperately seems to aim). But besides the many shortcomings, there is at least an overall feel of Farges' enthusiasm with the material and there are some occasional strong moments in which the film comes alive. And the screenplay, which is underdeveloped, nevertheless features some inspiring scenes where you get the idea of what the film could have become in the right hands.
In the end, I was a bit moved by the humanist intentions of the movie, and felt that I had at least been slightly entertained. Well...
The film is a fairy-tale set in 19th century Russia, featuring a young Cossack who starts on a journey to the czar after his tribe has been unfairly treated by some functionaries of the Russian army. On his 10000 kilometers long journey through the Russian Empire, he meets many people and faces many dangers, after which the timid boy will have become a man as well as a national celebrity.
This is basically the plot in a nutshell of a film which is at 98 minutes clearly too short for an epic saga of such proportions, but still feels often too long. Meant as a film primarily for children, I can't exactly imagine them to grasp the rather complex topic. The film has many shortcomings, most notably with the direction, which often feels arbitrary in its choice of scenes, and at worst totally pointless, when you sometimes start to doubt that there was any focused directorial involvement at all. Farges rarely knows how to dramatize the material, which leads to a film with acute pacing problems. He is also often merely photographing the exotic landscape and its people, making the viewer feel like he is watching a rehearsal and a travelogue rather than a narrative feature. The main actor is rather dull and uninvolving and often looks pale in comparison with some of the supporting actors. And having made the film with a digital camera doesn't help to achieve a cinematic effect either (at which the cinematography desperately seems to aim). But besides the many shortcomings, there is at least an overall feel of Farges' enthusiasm with the material and there are some occasional strong moments in which the film comes alive. And the screenplay, which is underdeveloped, nevertheless features some inspiring scenes where you get the idea of what the film could have become in the right hands.
In the end, I was a bit moved by the humanist intentions of the movie, and felt that I had at least been slightly entertained. Well...
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