12
by Nikita Mikhalkov
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Actor: Apti Magamaev, Nikita Mikhalkov, Sergey Garmash, Sergey Makovetskiy, Valentin GaftDirector: Nikita Mikhalkov
Brand: Sony
Producer: Nikita Mikhalkov
Writer: Nikita Mikhalkov
Producer: Aleksei Balashov
Producer: Aleksei Karpushin
Producer: Leonid Vereshchagin
Writer: Aleksandr Novototsky
Writer: Vladimir Moiseyenko
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Russian (Original Language)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 2.35:1
Running Time: 159 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-07-14
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
DVD Reviews of 12
DVD Review: A Sampling of Modern Russia Decide the Fate of a Chechen in This Jury Room Remake.
Summary: 4 Stars
Nikita Mikhalkov has re-worked Sidney Lumet's 1957 film "12 Angry Men" for post-communist Russia in "12", which he co-wrote and directed. In contemporary Moscow, twelve jurors are to decide the fate of a Chechen young man (Apti Magamaev) who is accused of the stabbing death of his foster father, a former Russian army officer who adopted young Umar when he was orphaned in the Chechen War. As the jury room is undergoing renovations, the jurors are compelled to conduct their deliberations in the gymnasium of a nearby middle school. The court expects a quick verdict; so do the jurors. They are surprised to find that one among them, a physicist and recovered alcoholic (Sergei Makovetski), votes "not guilty". This begins a long day and night of arguments, re-enactments, and speculation about the case, until they reach a unanimous decision.
Conventions of the American judicial system have been superimposed on Russia for dramatic purposes. In reality, Russian juries must only reach a majority, not unanimous, verdict, and appeals are unlimited. To give the deliberations more weight, the film's jury is working within the constraints of the American system. "12" seems to have been better received by foreigners than by Russians or Chechens, though. It's easy for foreigners to see the film as a social commentary in which the jurors represent different perspectives, classes, and backgrounds of a diverse and modern Russia. Like "12 Angry Men", it is not so much a comment on the working of the courts as an examination of the sources and consequences of people's prejudices, as well as a condemnation of moral laziness.
I gather that Chechens see "12" as misleading in claiming that a Chechen defendant could get justice from a Russian court. They think it's unrealistic that a jury would be so diligent in deciding the fate of a Chechen. But that is true anywhere in the world. People don't care that much. The premise was never intended to be realistic. One Russian opposition journalist accused the film of being pro-corruption and pro-Putin. It seems opaque on the issue of corruption. And, while the filmmaker is a Putin supporter, it is difficult for a foreigner to judge the film's politics. I don't recognize the various allusions presented by the jury members. I was only struck by the long-held Russian view that businesspeople are corrupt and parasitic. And the film does seem to support jury trials, which have been a contentious issue in Russia since their revival in 1993.
In the end, I was impressed by this film's ability to hold my attention for 2 hours and 37 minutes, even though it is talky, and I had to read subtitles the whole time. It gets going after a dull first 20 minutes. Predictably, most of the jurors give us their life stories so that we understand why they are so quick to find the defendant guilty -and so quick to change their minds. Intercut with the jury deliberations are flashbacks to Umar's experiences in wartorn Chechnya, as he awaits the verdict in his cell. Some speculation about the crime's true motives seems to be based on hearsay and overactive imaginations, which undercuts the film's themes to an extent. And the final moments of the deliberations feel contrived. But the characters and their speeches are generally engrossing. In Russian with optional English or French subtitles on the Sony 2009 DVD.
Description of 12
When a Chechen youth is put on trial for the murder of his stepfather, it's up to a room full of jurors divided by racism and prejudice to determine the boy's ultimate fate. One by one, each man takes center stage to confront, connect and confess while the accused awaits a verdict. Slowly the tide of opinion turns, as the jurors begin to realize their decision will forever change the course of another person's life. As they deliberate, the accused revisits his heartbreaking journey through war in a series of powerful flashbacks. Director Nikita Mikhalkov's Oscar®-nominated remake of 12 Angry Men is a brilliant look at fear, trust and the triumph of human nature.Bestsellers in DVD
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