Starring Semyon Svashenko, Amvrosi Buchma and Georgi Khorkov
Produced by VUFKU
It's 1918 Kiev and the workers are being oppressed and ignored by the government. Russian troops take liberties with the women and the men are shouted out of political gatherings. But when the workers take over the local munitions factory, it sets up a conflict that may ultimately change the nation.
I hated Arsenal.
Hated it. Hated it. Hated it.
There are some interesting images put on screen early on. I particularly like the soldier succumbing to the laughing gas on the battlefield. But the ideas are drawn out and the viewer is bludgeoned over the head with the imagery.
I get it. Move along.
Sadly, instead of picking up the pace, the movie's middle becomes a slog. We get a shot of a man staring. Cut to another man staring. Now cut back to the first man staring. Sometimes the men are angry or laughing. But there's always a lot of staring.
Okay, maybe there is a pinch of glowering in there too.
By the time, the film gets to the munition factory standoff, I just didn't care. Sure, I knew the Russians were the bad guys, but all I really got from the good guys was that they didn't like the bad guys. I never felt invested in their plight. When the film reaches its final moment, instead of being inspired, I laughed out loud at the ridiculousness of the scene.
I'm sure in its time and place, this was effective propaganda. Some of the imagery here is frame-it-on-your-wall gorgeous. But Arsenal is ponderous, dull and repetitive. Unless you are a Russian historian or a masochist, stay away
* out of *****
Image from The One-Line Review
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