Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Filipp Yankovsky's The Sword Bearer (2006)

Artyom Tkachenko

opening w/two gents looking off of bridge with section of side missing, divers, boaters and dragging the river--cops? Military? no police

logging truck and wood cut in two scared nervous driver who must have picked up guy who has disappeared. pretty good opening with foreshadowing etx Filipp Yankovsky

cut to sailing vessel on the sea w/in young man wrapping white bandages around palmsflashback to children and dead older man with cut open stomach, old man was stabbed flashback of young boy lying in bed with mother and talking about other children being scared of himshot of boy and palms while sleeping

present day and man is ringing doorbell young man Sasha goes to see mother not there

port community hometown, possibly, sasha goes and sees a girl and gets beat up by a couple of dudes and they drive away--ice cold rich dudes nice threads mercedes

he goes and kicks the shit, maybe killing, the two dudes much to the girl's horror, sasha splits

minimal dialogue in beginning didnt kill the guy girl is a doctor and identifies Sasha as assailant

Klim Aleksey Gorbunov dude and blonde older woman Bella Tatyana Lyutaeva want to find him son was beat up before cops find him really effed him up bad

sashas moms doesnt say anthing to anybody and writes a note and is crying and gets some money

sasha gets off ferry in the rain a guy identifies sasha another guy offers to sell sasha a dagger and sasha beats him up and takes dagger--dagger might be poor translation--sasha rides bus and has moms note no translation

flashback drunk man beating sashas moms and sashas stabs him? unknown. mom flips. must be the reason she cant have sasha around gets off bus in the middle of nowhere the guy who identified him follows hims and tells klim

dude cooking a pot of stew or something and sasha arrives at dudes house beautiful yellow house old dude is very happy to see sasha but sasha kills him now whats up with that-- film is setting up this character as quite violent and mysterious old dude acted as if he knew him sasha gets rid of body his biological father flashback shows sasha and moms dumping body in river

flashback sashas moms gets in trouble in school again for messing things up and fighting

kid even tries to cut off his hands on a railway track great scene and trolley not train stops before it can happen

sashas still at his biological dads house but splits and starts to hitchhike and gets picked up by Klim who immediately hits hims and knocks him out tie him up and calls bella gets out of ropes sasha knocks guy out and leaves cops find dads corpse at house on the trail now whats up with that

sasha at post office mailing package first thirty minutes over moms gets sashas package lady from dads house identifies sasha to police by a sketch his package to moms cant read note someintg important musta told her that he killed pops and sent her the money he found at dads house

great scene of sasha lying on roof--sasha seen cutting his own hand off with axebellas pissed at klim that sasha got away

sasha either tried and effed up or didnt cut hand off

meets beautiful woman in the hall way of apartment house she tells him to het out of hallthe two immediately start fucking

both of them are getting along pretty well loks like they've both fallen hard go to freaky deaky party ladys artistic type some guy hits on her and shaha gets mad jealous and beings talking to him whats up with that dont know whats up
virtually no dialogue thats a plus forty five minutes in

some dude shows up blonde dude and everyone is cool so far dudes old lover and super pissed and gets gun sasha takes care of him and the two tie him up must be dudes apartment they take his car and get away

blonde dude gets masssive guy to free him and sasha and chick start fucking in car

sasha goes and gets her a drink and blonde dude and thug show up to fuck up girl

sasha throws blonde dude up in the air and violently bangs his head against windsheild

and kills him with sword in his hand chick freaks out a little but killed thug too sasha looks as if he is in pain when he puts sword back in hand

first real reveal of sword in hand halfway thru film chick faints


cops find dead dude still on the trail of sasha

chick wakes up and is freaking out about sashas superhuman abiliites

police know chick and come toher house and the two flee police and get on the road out to the coutnry

katya Chulpan Khamatova reveals her name only halfway thru in fact thats when they make introductions first real substantive dilagoue happens then

klim still on the trail

priest gave couple a ride and sasha confesses but not really confesses he just opens up that he cannot endanger katya becuase she is with him on the road klim shoots the car off the road but another car comes by to help before klim can kill them

sashas in jail cops got him and are interrogating him specifically about what weapon that he used to kill the blonde dude

klim visits a convict in jail and tells the guy to beat up sasha but not kill him in prision
sasha kills everyone in his cellkatya is in hospital so is priest
cops interrogate about cell killings but sasha evades questions bloody scenes shown in cut scenes of aftermath
katya is in a mental institution and looks as if shes crazy
sasha holds up his hand to reveal what he stabbed his cell mates with fairly powerful scenethis movie is like a poem some very beautiful music and cinematography
sasha is taken in truck out to the middle of remote field and when it stops blood pours out of it really no graphic violence is shown but sasha killed the truck folks and is able to escape
film is a love story and a tragedy

4 comments:

Imposter Jason said...

A review in note format. NICE!

Neil Fulwood said...

Great abstract review, poetic and minimalist. Fantastic set of stills to illustrate it.

Hans A. said...

Thank you so much, gentlemen. I always appreciate your reading and comments. I was really apprehensive to make this post. A positive reaction really makes my day. Thnx, Hans.

Jay Shatzer said...

You just sold me on this movie beautifully looking movie. Ordered the dvd and I'm looking forward to checking it out myself. Thanks again.