This Week in Palm Springs
Special Events
08/05/2010 - Idyllwild Summer Concert
08/05/2010 - Ringo Starr/All Starr Band
08/07/2010 - Tribute to Nickelback
08/07/2010 - Rob Thomas
| Film Review – ‘Ward No. 6’ (In Russian, with English subtitles) |
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 Anton Chekhov Novella Transformed Into Modern-Day SettingMonday, January 11, 2010 Palm Springs International Film Festival Palm Springs, California By Palm Springs Guides Theatre & Cinema Reviewer/Critic Jack Lyons Photos courtesy of the Palm Springs International Film Festival Russian writer/director Karen Shakhnazarov, who also calls the shots at the prestigious Moscow Film Studios, brings his latest film, “Ward No. 6,” to the Palm Springs International Film Festival as the director of the Official Russian Entry Film for this year’s Oscar consideration.  The interesting take and twist that Shakhnazarov brings to one of Chekhov’s lesser known works is a deconstructing of the original 1890s story and the remaking of it into a modern-day film. The spine of the original story is still intact. However, Shakhnazarov employs different filmic aspects such as hand-held camera work and narrator-interviewer techniques that lend a documentary feel and look to the film. In addition, he has not only moved the story forward in time, he has also cast his film mostly with nonactors. Only the four main characters are professional and well-known Russian actors. The other characters and supporting performers are actual patients from a real Russian mental institution where much of the film was shot. The story revolves around Dr. Ragin (Vladimir Ilyin) a psychiatrist in charge of Ward No. 6, inside a mental institution. He takes an unusual interest in one of his patients Gromov (Alexey Vertkov) a young man with a persecution complex but one who is also the possessor of a keen philosophical mind. As the film unfolds we learn through interviews with the doctor’s friend Mikhail Averyanovich (Alexander Pankrotov-Chyorny) that the doctor and patient are spending an increasing amount of time together discussing the subject of insanity. As Dr. Ragin continues to treat Gromov, the seeds of doubt as to who is, or who should be, the real patient begin to grow. The sub-text of the film poses interesting questions. For example, if society is ever going to find cures for mental illness, then one needs to really contemplate the nature of the problem in earnest. Mental illness is an on-going and growing societal problem, worldwide. When the Institute, in the film, decides it’s time for a change, they replace Dr. Ragin with a much younger man a Dr. Hobotov (Evgeny Stychkin), whom they feel will bring a more modern understanding, along with more up to date healing techniques. Dr. Ragin, the administrator of the old and outdated methods now begins his decline into insanity — ultimately being tricked into becoming a patient in Ward No. 6.The idea of the film, as envisioned by Shakhnazarov, had been percolating in his mind for almost 20 years. The result of all that cogitation has produced a bold and daring departure from traditional linear filmmaking. It’s a complex film adventure, and, as with a great many European-made films, plot is in short supply. It’s the monologues and the wordy exchanges between the characters that generate the power and drive of the movie. That’s a lot of intellectual and philosophical food for thought packed into just 83 minutes. It makes one wonder if the patients are, indeed, in charge of the asylum. For more about the Palm Springs International Film Festival, click here.  Palm Springs Guides Theatre & Cinema Critic/Reviewer Jack Lyons is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Writers Guild of America, West and Screen Actors Guild and is interested in all things “show biz.” An entertainment journalist, TV, radio and theater reviewer/critic seen locally in the Coachella Valley on channel My13 KPSE-TV on “Desert Entertainment This Week.” To visit Jack’s blog, click here. | |||||||
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