12 Angry Russian Men

I viewed the Russian film “12” last night, which is based on the movie “12 Angry Men”. Overall I enjoyed the movie, despite its length of two and one-half hours. Artistically, my favorite part of the film was the beginning. The implementation of black and white film with the selected music was in good taste and I found myself on the edge of my seat in the opening credits.

At first, the foreign language was frustrating, as I am not a fan of subtitles; yet over time, I forgot that I was even reading them. Compared to American films, the actors seemed to be a bit more expressive in an unrealistic way.Although, the actors had to be expressive in order to keep me entertained during the long film which takes place in one room for the majority of the film. The cinematography was also a bit different than what I am used to. There were not as many face shots as I am accustomed to seeing. Instead the camera was focused much of the time on all twelve men. Another difference I noticed was how long it took some of the characters to get their statements across. Their lines were certainly not trite, and I found myself thinking, “get to the point.” On the other hand, there were many analogies and stories told that I found interesting and appreciated what they added to the film.

The film was much better than I expected it would be. The plot was extremely interesting. Even though I’ve seen many movies similar to it, it had its own twist. I also enjoyed learning about Russian culture (which was brought up very often) and the pride that Russians show for it. It was also interesting seeing the difference between Russian and American humor and common expressions. There were many elements of the film which I thoroughly enjoyed. To tell the truth, I wasn't expecting the film to be up to par, but I was surprised by what the Russian film industry has accomplished.