CastleDrama: Russian Ark

For years, it has been my dream to visit the (royal) sights of St. Petersburg and Pushkin. In Sunday's edition of Castleholics Anonymous with The Lady & the Rose, she talked about the splendour of Russian palaces and said, "There is so much history and art, you'd really need to spend your entire life inside to appreciate every detail! In the meantime, do watch Russian Ark." And what did I do? Of course, I watched "Russian Ark" - and OMG, it's amazing!

"Russian Ark", released in 2002, was filmed entirely in Russia's Winter Palace, famous for being the Hermitage Museum, using a single 96-minute Steadicam sequence shot. The film is shot from the point-of-view of an unseen narrator, as he explores the museum and travels through 300 years of Russian history. By wandering through 33 rooms of the Hermitage Museum, the narrator discovers Peter the Great abusing one of his generals, Catherine the Great desperately searching for a bathroom, and, in the grand finale, the sumptuous Great Royal Ball of 1913. Apart from Russian history, the film gives an amazing insight into the beauty that is the Winter Palace - after watching it, I wanna go there even more!


(Yes, CastleDrama is yet another new feature for Confessions of a Castleholic. While CastleView will continue to focus on documentaries and the like, CastleDrama will introduce to you different films and costume dramas many castle lovers will enjoy.)

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