The short film Empire is based on the radio drama Sorry, Wrong Number by the American writer Lucille Fletcher. Sokurov draws on a single theme, forming the background for the story of the thriller - the woman's illness. The heroine is bed-ridden and her only means of communication with the outside world is her telephone - until a killer interrupts the conversation... Sokurov removed all the dialogues, leaving us alone with the heroine ('a living skeleton') who is listening to a radio broadcasting of Traviata, with its pleas for mercy and love. Empire is made in a style that attempted to reanimate the dead ancient harmony. The film was shot as a study work of VGIK student S. Sidorov. At that time Sokurov did not have a chance to launch a project of his own, therefore he used this possibility to work. Visual conception of this film anticipates a considerable number of Sokurov's future experiments: light that models the space, leveling of colours, correlation of contrasting textures. (Alexandra Tuchinskaya)
- Director
- Alexander Sokurov
- Country of production
- USSR
- Year
- 1986
- Festival Edition
- IFFR 2005
- Length
- 35'
- Medium
- Betacam SP PAL
- Original title
- Ampir
- Language
- Russian
- Producer
- Lenfilm Studios
- Sales
- Lenfilm Studios
- Screenplay
- Alexander Sokurov