Last night i had the opportunity to see a movie I've been hearing about for awhile. The first time was in an interview with Denys Arcand (of The Barbarian Invasions fame). He was asked by a member of the audience if he agreed with the critics saying his movies are masterpieces. His reply was: "Well, I'm not sure I've made any movies with the status of a real masterpiece, like say, Battleship Potemkin, but I'm fairly content with what I've achieved, yes". I could not miss the chance of seeing it and I have to say I wasn't disappointed.

Battleship Potemkin is less of a war movie than it is one about the human condition: both unity and savagery are themes skillfully explored here in this movie about the crew of said Russian battleship wanting in on Lenin's proletarian revolt claims of 1905 and taking things into their own hands.

The rebellion breaks out and the higher ranking officers are killed. An interesting event takes place here, or rather doesn't. The priest on board, who seemed to be respected (or at least tolerated) by both sides, doesn't try to calm the game in order to save lives and make the the power transition go smoothly. That's typical of religion, isn't it, running away from the problem when they didn't start the dance. The ship, now led by the free sailors, soon reaches Odessa and spreads it's ideal to the population.

The arrival of the cossaks to quell the uprising in Odessa marks, in my opinion, one of the best scene in cinematic history ever. The tension is palpable as they enter the city and fire on anyone in their path, without discrimination, advancing and crashing down on the people like a giant white wave. That scene had a lot more thrills and life in it than other whole movies do.

I won't sell the ending but I'll say it had me litterally holding my breath for twenty minutes. The musical score is a great help for the movie, too. It always is in a state of symbiosis with the story. which makes for a poignant experience audio-wise as well. Of course, on that level as in any other in the movie, nothing is subtle or in nuance, but that's very Russian and I wouldn't want it any other way.

5 out of 5