nightwatch

the thing that struck me most about Nightwatch (Nochnoy Dozor), was the integration of subtitling into the visuals. english subs appear in-synch with the (Russian) dialogue and disappear creatively, be it in a puff of smoke or desolved = very much a visual treat and am highly appreciative of the effort.

"Among normal humans live the "Others" possessing various supernatural powers. They are divided up into the forces of light and the forces of the dark, who signed a truce several centuries ago to end a devastating battle. Ever since, the forces of light govern the day while the night belongs to their dark opponents. In modern day Moscow the dark Others actually roam the night as vampires while a "Night Watch" of light forces, among them Anton, the movie's protagonist, try to control them and limit their outrage." [via]



had wanted badly to watch Nightwatch on the big screens when it showed here (a short run, unfortunately) last year, having read much about it ... and let's face it, when ya say "vampire" and "modern russia" in the same sentence, it sure as heck's enticing for this "vampire-flick-fan"! but alas, work schedules conflicted and months later, i stand before the cashier-counter with a VCD in-hand. (couldn't wait for the DVD-release lor *hahahaha* :p)

< VCD-cover

as much as i'd love to rave about it, t'was not that exceptional, but still mildly entertaining and enjoyable. mayhap t'was in Russia ("foreign film") and hence imbudded with a certain "art-iness" about it, coupled with a sense of Gen-MTV-style visuals and cuts, together with a simple but awesome premise = makes for a great decent watch (pardon the pun) ... or maybe i couldn't fully "appreciate" the movie as t'was the resolution of a VCD i had to contend with (as opposed to a DVD, innit?) ~ regardless, there was loads of clever ideas and surprisingly effective effects and i reckon tis leaves an undeniable mark on celluloid-history.

watch a condensed 2-and-a-half-minute version of the movie here! :p

the Tim Bekmambetov-directed Nightwatch is the first installment in a planned trilogy (latest cinematic trend, innit?). Day Watch (Dnevnoy Dozor) has just been released [via] - while the third; Dusk Watch (Nochnoy Dozor 3), is in currently in production.