I haven't seen this Russian fantasy movie from 2007 set during the historical Polish invasion of 1612 but it looks pretty spectacular and the winged hussars look impressive. The siege scene is recommended by me as being pretty watchable. Wiki on the movie
2 comments:
Comment on the historical accuracy of the movie.
The movie contains mythological elements, both Christian and pagan and cannot be considered true to history. The plot is also based on the miraculous salvation of the Princess Xenia Godunova, which was probably strangled with her brother by the entourage of the False Dmitriy I. However, the ending squares this with the known history: Xenia takes the vows as a nun and the peasant pretender-- the protagonist of the movie--resigns to his fate as a commoner.
Wikipedia entry incorrectly says that the movie shows that Polish invaders never took Moscow, supposedly out of nationalist sentiment. In fact, the main premise of the movie is based on the Poles being temporary overlords of Russia, in particular, Russian acclamation of the heir to the Polish throne as a Tsar of All Russias in absentia. This fact is historically accurate. The author of Wikipedia mixes up the sieges of Moscow--numerous in the course of 1605-1612 Civil War known as the Time of Troubles--with a fictional siege of some peripheral fortress, by a Polish-Ukrainian warlord
which is a stage for a large part of the movie plot.
The circumstances of the Time of Troubles produced several contenders both of noble and commoner lineage, so the fictional story of a liberated serf pretending to be a Spanish mercenary, from the petty noble lineage, who enters the fray is not completely out of place. Similarly, quite a few Polish-Ukrainian warlords contended for power, some with their own "pocket" pretenders. So the captivity of supposedly surviving daughter of the Russian Tsar Boris by the warlord, albeit fictional, does not go against the spirit of times as well.
Nice finding. Not overladden with CGI effects it's quite more impressive than most recent movies. May it be unhistorical in its storytelling, the film looks convincing in depiction of tactics and equipment - if more for the middle to late 17th century. ;-)
As a sidenote: Are these musketeers meant to represent German mercenaries? I thought to hear German commands.
Cheers
SG
Post a Comment