Russian Ark
2002
Director: Aleksandr Sokurov
Starring: Sergei Dontsov and thousands upon thousands of others.
Some films are must see films because of iconic performances. Some, because of the fantastic stories they tell. Still others are considered must see films because of some sort of profound technical achievement. Russian Ark, originally included in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die but cut in subsequent years, earned its must-see status due to the latter.
The unseen central character of the film wakes up and finds himself in the nineteenth century at the Russian State Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg. He follows in some aristocrats there for a party, but apparently they cannot see him. The only person who can see him is a stranger dressed in black (Dontsov) who, like our central character, is an apparent time-traveler, and French. The man in black leads our character through the Hermitage, in and out of rooms, in and out of different centuries, all while discussing Russian art and culture from the last five hundred years.
