An Eastern European Take on Stanley Kubrick
Cinema
Emperor, a short film shot in Moscow tells the story behind Stanley Kubrick’s script Napoleon. Philipp Zybkovets wrote,
directed, acted and produced this rich period piece that seemed to have more
layers, both emotional and dramatic, than most movies that are ten times as
long.
This 13 minute
short was well written and expertly directed. It also had some very fine acting
in it, especially by the Russian actress, Kristina Pilskaia. She had the
pivotal role of Kubrick’s wife, Christiane Kubrick.
The film takes
us on a brief journey through Kubrick’s life, films and relationships with his
unfinished script of Napoleon in the
driver’s seat. The movie is a masterpiece in storytelling, thanks to Mr. Zybkovets,
and each time Kristina Pilskaia sauntered into a scene, the movie seemed to
brighten up a bit. Or maybe the actor playing Kubrick brightened up when she
was near him just as the audience had when they gazed at this actress who had
the presence of a Garbo or a Streep.
The music was
perfect and Beethoven would have been proud to be a part of this magnificent 13
minutes of grand filmmaking had he been in the audience. Philipp Zybkovets has made two award-winning
films before this, Compensation and Rat Trap, so he is no stranger to praise
of his work. With Cinema Emperor he
has demonstrated that he indeed speaks the language of film fluently and he is
currently working on other masterpieces as we write.
Kristina
Pilskaia is also working on other masterpieces and we are looking forward to
seeing her more and more and more. She is a masterful actress who obviously
comprehends the art of nuance and subtlety in the high art of acting.
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