Dialogues with Solzhenitsyn

Aleksandr Sokurov's two-part, three-hour documentary on Nobel Prize-winning author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (shot four years after his return to Russia, following two decades in exile) is certain to polarize viewers. Those who literally hang on every word spoken by the great writer regarding the essence of Russia's deep and complex history—from the Tsarist years through the Soviet era and into the shaky post-Communist world—will find the conversation between Sokurov and Solzhenitsyn (which also touches on the national literature and folklore) to be mature and often profound. But others will surely bristle at the film's funereal pacing, excessive verbosity, and intrusive presence of Solzhenitsyn's wife (who is not as insightful as her husband). Furthermore, anyone hoping for a traditional biography of Solzhenitsyn's tumultuous life will be in for a major disappointment, since the writer's personal story is only presented in relatively brief, non-chronological passages. Regardless, Dialogues with Solzhenitsyn will prove invaluable to students and aficionados of Russian history and culture; others should proceed with caution. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)