Jun 252008
We started watching Ostrov tonight. (Especially in summer, we only have time for a little bit of movie-watching here and there — maybe 20 minutes on those nights when we have time. On a weekend we might go crazy and watch a half-hour’s worth.)
I was surprised at the reference to abortion. I didn’t know it was allowed to say things like that in movies, even in Russian movies.
This YouTube clip shows the part I’m referring to. It doesn’t have subtitles like the Netflix DVD does, but if I remember right, the girl wants to get a blessing from the monk for an abortion. He says something along the lines of “You’re going to hell and you want to drag me there with you?” (I don’t know the word for hell in Russian, among a whole lot of other words I don’t understand, but some of what I do understand makes me think the subtitles might not be too far off. My memory might be off, though.) The monk advises her not to kill a person and spend the rest of her life regretting it like he is doing, and also tells her she will have a boy. Then he chases her off his island. (The reviews say he is “erratic.”)
I can’t wait to watch the next 20 minutes worth.