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Reviews
STAR RATINGS EXPLAINED
Unmissable 5 Stars
Excellent 4 Stars
Good 3 Stars
Poor 2 Stars
Tragic 1 Star

FILM DETAILS
Certificate
Cast
Pyotr Mamonov
Viktor Sukhorukov
Dmitriy Dyuzhev
Yuri Kuznetsov.
Directors
Pavel Lungin.
Screenwriters
Running Time
112 minutes

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The Island
Russian drama in a remote monastery.


Plot
A monk in a remote monastery in Northern Russia, is trying to handle his own spiritual journey when outsiders start to attribute healing and holy powers to him.

Review
The Island
Opening with a monochrome wartime prologue, Pavel Lungin aims for Tarkovsky-like artistry as he follows a lost soul’s passage through guilt, atonement and redemption. Monk Pyotr Mamonov prepares himself for the Inferno by maintaining the remote local community’s coal-fired boiler. His hermitic existence is compromised by a visit from admiral Yuri Kuznetsov and his daughter, Viktoria Isakova.

Exceptionally photographed to contrast the forbidding White Sea landscape with Mamonov’s craggy persona, this is a compelling study of the clash between individual faith and institutionalised religion that also serves as a parable on the abuse of power in both the Soviet and democratic eras.


Verdict
Stunning to look at and ambitious in its symbolic rendering of the subject.


Reviewed by David Parkinson

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Your Reviews

Average user rating for The Island
Empire Star Rating

The Island - 2010!

I love the Island - and I mean this film, not any previous films called 'The Island', I'm talking about the Pavel Lungin one starting Petr Mamonov (if you've seen Tsar, you'll know who he is). It was originally released in Russia early 2007, which was when I saw it as I was living there at the time, and was HUGELY popular, and deservedly so. The acting is first rate and it is beautifully shot, a modern Russian classic. Thought provoking as ever with Lungin, and just a great film. Watch it! ... More

Empire User Rating

Posted by shotlandka at 19:36, 13 February 2010 | Report This Post


RE: urmm :/

Look up rhetoric. ... More

Posted by CORLEONE at 16:56, 10 February 2010 | Report This Post


RE: urmm :/

Hahahahaha!!! What the fuck is this new Island shit!?!?!!? ... More

Posted by CORLEONE at 12:34, 04 February 2010 | Report This Post


RE: urmm :/

hahaha!  Epic fail by some of the old forumers. Here's a hint guys, click the link in the first post, you won't find a white jump suit in sight. ... More

Posted by Drone at 22:57, 03 February 2010 | Report This Post


RE: urmm :/

trolled ... More

Posted by oggzy at 03:09, 03 February 2010 | Report This Post


RE: The Island

Good film. Nowhere as bad as some say. Some great action, Steve Buscemi steals it, and Scarlett has never looked hotter. ... More

Posted by CORLEONE at 00:03, 24 January 2010 | Report This Post


RE: The Island

I am liking "The Island" alot !! despite all the action carnage, its got something deeper and more poignant and Scarlett J too...hmmmm ... More

Empire User Rating

Posted by hampstead bandit at 20:43, 22 January 2010 | Report This Post


RE: The Island

Bay: Transformers Armageddon The Island The Rock Transformers 2 Bad Boys Bay Boys 2 Pearl Harbour ... More

Posted by Tech_Noir at 20:23, 22 January 2010 | Report This Post


RE: The Island

L: Tech_Noir I like this film. don't. Jablonsky's ncolneat though. ... More

Posted by dh_19 at 19:51, 22 January 2010 | Report This Post


RE: The Island

I liked it better when it was called THX-1138 and Logans Run. ... More

Posted by Rgirvan44 at 19:43, 22 January 2010 | Report This Post


RE: The Island

I like this film. ... More

Empire User Rating

Posted by Tech_Noir at 19:37, 22 January 2010 | Report This Post



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