An Immersive Theatrical Journey through Media and Time in Alexander Sokurov’s Russian Ark

Abstract

This chapter argues that Russian Ark is a rare intermedial achievement because of the quantity of media involved and, more importantly, the theatrical nature of the enterprise, which contributes to an intense feeling of immersion on the viewers’ part. The film is structured as a walk through the recesses of the Hermitage, undertaken by the two protagonists, a nineteenth-century French Marquis and an anonymous present-day man. Their motion in space and their interactions (or lack thereof) with other figures − either historical or contemporary – emulate an act of space-based immersive theatre. Characters and spaces are gradually discovered in theatrical tableaux by the protagonists and film viewers alike, with the resulting feeling of being ‘there’, transported into other eras. Russian Ark is meant to be fully experienced, holistically perceived by the film viewers as a spatial and sensual journey of discovery. Ultimately, the viewers long for the eternity of the spectacle, performed as a rite against death.