NIGHTWATCH
September 5th 2006
this weekend, i watched two whole movies, the first of which was the Russian blockbuster Nightwatch, or as i might like to call it, Notwatch. Because don't. ok, maybe that's not fair, but honestly, it is. i wasn't really sure if the movie was losing something (ie EVERYTHING) in the translation, or if this was an example of Russian just not really working for non-Russians.
it reminded me of when i used to work with Russians, and they would tell me a Russian joke, and i was never sure if the punchline was actually a punchline. when i didn't laugh, they'd wait a few moments, then tell me that it loses something in the translation. yeah, could be. so, Nightwatch must be like a Russian joke.
actually, the books sound really interesting, and i'd love to read them, but i can't, because i don't know how to read Russian.
the movie is a whirlwind of boredom and things what don't make sense. what i took from it was that centuries ago, Light and Dark had a big battle, then decided to form a treaty. fast forward to modern day, Anton is a Seer, i guess, because they make that pretty clear, albeit highly unclearly. he goes to see a witch at the start of the movie in order to get his wife back, because she's leaving him for another man, who she's pregnant by. the witch is an Other of the Dark ilk, so she works her magic and attempts to cause a miscarriage, but then the Light Others (Night Watch) show up to stop her. Anton can see them, so he gets to join.
zip ahead 12 more years, and Anton is an alcoholic who can... uh, drink ...blood and become a vampire, maybe? at this point, making much sense of things pretty much goes out the window, so you can just read about it on wikipedia or some fan site. basically, Anton is looking for a kid who is an Other, and ends up fighting some vampires, which puts him on the trail of a prophecied Other who will tip the balance in favour of whichever side he chooses to join, though they say that the kid will choose the Dark side because it's easier. eh.
oh, right, they're also looking for a cursed girl who might bring about the end of the world.
blah blah blah. Anton finds the kid and leaves him with a guy who turns into a bear (but you never see it) and a girl who turns into a tiger (you see it once). while talking to bear and tiger, the kid somehow manages to get the two of them to start making out when he tells the bear that if he were to turn into a bear, he'd be embarrassed because his clothes would be ripped off and he'd be naked. i guess the thought of a naked bear was too much for the tiger to bear, so she makes out with him and the kid escapes to get kidnapped by a vampire.
im so bored. turns out the cursed girl cursed herself, so she gets uncursed, and the world is saved, but then the kid, Anton's son, chooses the Dark because Anton tried to kill him in the womb. there's a sequel to this movie, and then there's a sequel to that being made in america, so it's bound to be loaded with new actors and maybe a more coherent.... EVERYTHING.
here's some insight into the movie's adaption from the books:
In the movie, the use of spells, power amulets and shapeshifting was significantly diminished compared to the book Night Watch. The Gloom, which was an important background element in the book, was barely used in the movie. The book deals with the technique of entering the Gloom by raising your shadow, the different levels within it, etc. The movie's director explained that he never liked magic, so all magical aspects were severely downplayed.
WELL it's a good thing you're making a movie about the supernatural!!!
In the movie, Yegor is Anton's son. In the book, they aren't related. (Sergei Lukyanenko explained that this change was a result of a "glitch" in the script)
ugh.
In the movie, Yegor is the Great One whose coming was foretold, who will shift the balance of the final battle between Light and Dark. In the book, there is no such prophecy and the boy has mediocre potential. He's just a pawn the Dark put into the game to distract Anton from Svetlana, the true focus of the struggle, who really does have incredible powers