ironhorse_iv
After being sent out to the sea, two times before, in the Russo-Japanese War and the First World War. All that Vice Admiral, Alexander Kolchak (Konstantin Khabenskiy) wants to do, is find who is his true-love is: his wife, Sofia Kolchak (Anna Kovalchuk) & fame poet, Anna Timiryova (Elizaveta Boyarskaya) back home. However, the call of war, is calling his name, once more, as he has to make, another choice, choose to lead of the anti-communist White Movement against the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War, for the love of his country or abandoned his noble cause, for the chance for a normal life with his love ones. Without spoiling the movie, too much, the film remind me, so much of 1965's Doctor Zhivago in story-structure, having flashbacks tell most of the story. However, unlike Doctor Zhivago, this movie's lacks the epic scope in the cinematography department. As much as I love war scenes in this war film, there is this eerily unrealistic that come with some of the sequences. A good example of this, come with the navy battles, during the opening. Not only are most of those scenes, historic inaccuracy, like the sinking of SMS Friedrich Carl in November 1915, when it sunk for real, two years earlier; but the computer-animation ships don't look like, they're really there. It looks a bit fake-looking. It was bit, over the top to see that ship blows apart and sinks within seconds with a clear big loss of lives by Russian mines. When, actually, the Friedrich Carl was stayed afloat for several hours, enough for the light cruiser SMS Augsburg to arrive to the scene and rescue most of the crew, and only 8 crew members were lost. Nevertheless, that fault; the war scenes in the ground scenes were still intense and well-shot. I like how they didn't sugarcoat, the violence. It's bloody, gory, and very gruesome. I just wish, the CGI effect were done, a little better. Directed by Andrey Kravchuk, the romantic sequences are kinda below standards, too as the movie rarely gives anytime, for the relationship between Kolchak and Timiryova to deliver. The two, barely show any chemistry for each other. Another thing, the film fails to tell, is a little background, like how Kolchak honestly became an Admiral. I'm not saying the film has to show the events of his life during the Russo-Japanese War, but a small mention would do. After all, Kolchak's life during that war, was very interesting and intense. Another thing, the movie doesn't show, is how Kolchak became the leader of the White Movement after his meeting in Petrograd. You would think the movie would show, his relationship with France, the United States, and the United Kingdom, more and how he almost got sent to Mesopotamia. That, or show his time, exile overseas in Japan. Even, his polar explorer career wasn't mention or expose much. It would make a lot more sense, if the movie mention that the reason, why he choose to come back to Siberia to fight back against the reds, is because he knew that area, best. However, the film doesn't even do that. Nor does it expose, the many of deaths by citizens, cause both from the Reds and the Whites, during this time. Yes, the whites did attack towns as well. While, there is a lot of debate if Kolchak in true-life was a natural patriotic hero for liberty, or an autocratic man seeking power. It's just nice to see that, after decades of being vilified by the Soviet government, Kolchak is now just now, seem as a controversial historic figure in post-Soviet Russia. He's not good nor bad. I just wouldn't say, Konstantin Khabenskiy is good as a romantic lead, but as a commander, he has the voice to pull it off. He comes off, kinda stern, but also somewhat heart-warming at parts. Elizaveta Boyarskaya as Anna Timiryova is a beautiful, however, her character lacks depth, so her acting doesn't shine, besides loving the Kolchak character in most of her key scenes. I would love to see, more of her acting, in other ways, like showing Anna's career as poet and a nurse. The movie doesn't even show, any of her poems at all. Nor does the movie talk or show Anna Timiryova's young son, the fame avant garde artist Vladimir Timirev, who was around, Kolchak are the time. Despite that, the movie is pretty good. I like how the title uses the old, Russian orthography that was abandoned after the October Socialist Revolution of 1917. That was pretty cool. The movie is indeed in Russian, but DVD does have English subtitles. Overall: Despite some faults, Admiral is still a movie worth, seeing. It's kinda rare to see, a Russian movie about the White Movement. So check it out!
