Third session of the cycle of films and talks Modos de Rever: O Cinema e o Imaginário do Museu, with programmed and moderated by Isabel Lopes Gomes. Following on from the previous cycle, which explored the rapprochement between cinema and the plastic arts, this second session seeks to reflect on the representations of the museum in cinema, from different periods in its history to the present day. This session will feature a screening of Aleksandr Sokurov's Russian Ark (2002), followed by a conversation with professor and art critic Delfim Sardo and professor and film critic Carlos Natálio, moderated by Isabel Lopes Gomes.



RUSSKIY KOVCHEG | RUSSIAN ARK
Aleksandr Sokurov | RUS, GER, JPN, CAN, FIN, DEN | 2002 | 99'

An invisible modern-day narrator (voiced by the film-maker Sokurov himself) wakes up in the world-famous Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. There he meets a figure dressed in black (Sergey Dreiden), a 19th century French diplomat with a cynical view of Russian history, its cultural achievements and its independence. Together, the two explore the museum, discussing the country's cultural heritage and frequently disagreeing with each other, while witnessing some of the most significant incidents from the entire period of the Tsarist Empire. Sokurov carries out his vision of the world and the museum using a single, very long shot, where the abundant depth of field and the unstoppable, sinuous movements indicate the tortuosity and complexity of the paths of history.