Imagine a movie in which superhumans move invisibly through an extra-dimensional membrane called the Gloom. A world in which — if you choose to break the laws of magic — you can, with a spell, cause a spontaneous abortion from miles away. Or change instantaneously into a tiger or bear. A world in which a woman can be so cursed that she leaves misery in her wake and in her path unlocks the gates of Darkness, a horrible crow-infested category 5 tornado.
That only scratches the surface of a movie that doesn’t come close to perfection, but is so rich with detail and ideas that it begs deeper inspection. Timur Bekmambetov and Laeta Kalogridis co-wrote the screenplay, which is based on the first of a hugely popular fantasy trilogy by Sergei Lukyanenko. I have not read the books, but after seeing the movie, I will.
Luckily, one of the sequels — Dnevnoy dozor — is already in release in other parts of the world. The final movie, Posledni dozor, is in pre-production. Yay.
Unlike Underworld, which is more interested in how beautiful everybody looks as they spin in slo-mo through hail storms of bullets, Nochnoi dozor dwells in the very gloom it makes a frightening part of its own mythology. A two-part climax yields only one compelling payoff, but is perhaps the more important of the two since it sets the tone for struggle in the next film.
What thrills me about the movie, despite its stylish post-Matrix production values, is how un-American it is. Sure, the usual Yankee artifacts are on display: rocket-powered trucks, wisecracking cranks, and SAAB-commercial lighting to die for. But under Bekmambetov’s direction, Nochnoi dozor has much more in common with Tarkovsky than with Wachowskis, and brings the quickly vanishing art of philosophically chatty plot interludes comfortably into a movie that in America simply wouldn’t tolerate too much talk.
I’ve seen it twice and I’m going again. Finally, some fantasy for grown ups.