Anna Karenina I was surprised primarily not by the plot (which remained a soap story), but by the staging. The visual part of the film - costumes, scenery, choreography - is magnificent. From the first shots, the film really fascinated me. So much so that I completely forgot about the plot, and in this case it is a huge plus. The whole work, with rare exceptions, is shot in the theater, and this makes it somewhat surreal, decorative. People, costumes, scenery change, but the theater remains in place, containing ballrooms, city streets, and horse racing. All this, together with the lush bright costumes and puppet movements of the actors, creates a magnificent atmosphere of complete lies and hypocrisy of secular society. I was very impressed by the scene when one of the heroes decided to leave this society and the walls of the theater opened in front of him, releasing him from a small doll house into the snowy Russian expanses. Damn it, I never imagined that Anna Karenina could be so great!
Another significant plus, in my opinion, is music. In many films, it is a separate background that creates an atmosphere or has nothing to do with what is happening on the screen. However, here it is inextricably connected with the rest of the picture. The knock of stamps, the trampling of legs, the rustle of dresses are mixed with the play of instruments or the singing of a passer-by with an accordion, creating a single whole with them.
Actors are great, too. Everyone except Karenina. Everything was fine at first, but when her unfounded tantrums began, she became more and more disgusted. Although these claims are more about the character than the actress.
Finally, I can say a few words about the story. It is a tedious soap story, in which, however, there is also one plus - behind the chic visual part it is quite possible not to notice.
In general, this version of Anna Karenina impressed me very much. The whole movie looks in one breath, almost not letting you get bored. However, the behavior of the main character in the second half of the film somewhat spoils the impression of the picture.
8 out of 10
Original