Russian Ark

A contemporary filmmaker and another French diplomat from the 19th century (played by Sergei Dontsov) find themselves in an ancient palace in St. Petersburg, completely invisible to the people around them. The two wandered together in the palace and witnessed the furious Peter the Great whipping his generals; the private life of Empress Catherine; the last supper of the last tsarist family on the eve of the revolution and the last glorious and grand palace ball in 1913. In just 100 minutes, I personally experienced more than 200 years of Russian history... The film won the 2004 Argentine Film Festival Best Foreign Language Film Award, the 2003 German Camera Award Feature Film Honorary Award, the 2003 Spanish Fantasy Film Award Best Actor (Sergei Dontsov), Best Screenplay and Best Director, the 2004 Nikka Award for Best Art Director, the 2003 San Francisco Film Critics Association Honor Award, and the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival Visual Award.