The weather in Minneapolis has, as they say, sucked the proverbial egg, so you'd think I'd be able to pound through the movies like nobody's business. Sorry to disappoint, but I have been distracted by a British television series that is not Downton Abbey. I could only muster enough attention for two movies, The Robe and yesterday's White Nights.
White Nights is set during the last years of the Cold War, and features a Russian dancer, Nikolai Rodchenko, who defected to the US, played by Mikhail Baryshnikov and an American dancer, Raymond Greenwood, who defected to the former Soviet Union, played by Gregory Hines.Of course there is the obvious clash of ideologies and dance styles, and plenty of 'spontaneous' bursts of dancing. Greenwood is pressured by the KGB to convince Rodchenko to dance again in the USSR. I think it was an interesting concept and considering it was made contemporaneously to the era it was representing, it captured the feelings of mistrust at that time. But I think that's part of the problem with the movie, it seemed really dated and stale, including the music. I'm not sure I would have liked it if I saw it when it first came out, but having visited Russia, Moscow and St. Petersburg, I was a little more interested in the scenery and the history than the story. Lionel Richie won for Best Original Song, "Say You, Say Me"; "Separate Lives" written by Stephen Bishop was also nominated from the same movie. I don't know if it deserved to win, I didn't think the other nominated songs were that strong, but this song didn't come until the very end of the movie so it didn't set up the story or help a critical piece of the narrative. If you are a fan of dance, you might enjoy it. If you're not so much, then you might want to take a pass on it, or put it on your 'there's nothing else I really want to see, let me broaden my horizons' list.
Below are some pictures of my trip to St. Petersburg in 2006.
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| The Neva, St. Petersburg |
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| Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, St. Petersburg |
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| Hermitage, St. Petersburg |
