Review: 12

12 (12 razgnevannyh muzhchin) 2007. Nikita Mikhalkov.

The original Twelve Angry Men still carries a lot of power. The sheer moral weight of the film is impressive. This remake carries these questions to Moscow and places them against the backdrop of the Russian-Chechen conflict. Tension stems not only from embattled ethnic groups and but from struggles of privilege, class, and other beliefs. Wrinkle after wrinkle the story turns and surprises. The characters are stripped raw.

It’s a great remake. Symbolism is used throughout in a very dramatic fashion, by dramatic I mean as setting, plot, and significant objects are used in theater. The film moves at a deliberate pace, the pace I associate with older films. Long shots. Scenes that really weigh on the view. It breeds discomfort, the kind of discomfort that we secretly enjoy.

I don’t know how I feel about the “jealous woman” argument. It feels off in a film that otherwise strives to flip each character’s prejudices. Though dominantly the play is about doubt. It is about turning one way of seeing into another; it is about opening minds. The overarching moral of the film may suffer slightly from this. It’s hard for me to say.

Overall, this is one heck of a thoughtful and well shot movie. It takes the best qualities from classic cinema that are missing today and incorporates a very contemporary cinematography. It’s beautiful, well acted, well directed. A tremendous revisioning of a classic.