12 (2007)

"12", became one of my personal favorites as it's very well put together with excellent acting and a representation of humanity at its full complexity and uncertain nature. It explores, through the stories of which characters, many human expressions and feelings like hope, terror, faith and kindness. The master's touch is explicit in the way that this all plays out, not only in the excellent performance but also in the very subtle way the story is told. Mikhalkov gives us a remake with something more, a Russian touch, with a critic to the Russian way. 12" won a Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival, and with every right. This movie has a powerful acting and a compelling story-line. Is definitely worth watching.

Even though, it's a loosely based version of the play, 12 Angry Men. The film is about 12 Russian male jurors who decide the fate of a Chechyen orphan who is accused of killing his stepfather, a Russian soldier and officer. Anyway, the film is done quite well with a fantastic cast of actors who each take a turn in defending their guilty to not guilty decision on the basis of the boy. Each actor takes a dramatic turn and we learn about their reasoning and rationale for their decision. It's a fascinating portrait and study of the Russian judicial system and an event such as the Chechyen War conflict which I don't know much about except from the film that it's bloody, dangerous, and unforgiving hell. The boy and the jurors aren't given names but each possess great performances in dramatic film. This Russian film is terrific and was nominated for the Academy Award for foreign language film. I wonder who it lost too because it's a great film and worth watching.

"12" is well shot and decently acted, however, it never for a moment let's you forget that this isn't just an adaptation, this is a movie with a purpose - a modern morality play for Russians. Mikhalkov is trying to stir his nation's conscience, to call its people to act rather than lounge about in cynical resignation. I accept Mikhalkov's purpose, but I don't think it justifies characters that are at times painfully flat and symbolism that is frequently as direct as an express train. I'll recommend ''12'' to anyone interested in Russian psychology and society (it's certainly worth watching), but I won't call it a masterpiece.

First and foremost the movie is 'almost' a remake (loose remake) of English classic 12 angry men, both dealing with 12 jurors attempting to make a judgment of teenager's fate with the limited information they have. This is the 3rd version of 12 angry men including original that I have seen and liked it equally; the other one is "Ek Ruka Hua Faisla" from India. I used 'almost' earlier because in this Russian version it's the politics/war (Chechnya-Russia relations) in the backdrop and also the ending is twisted to a certain extent. Now that being said, I will only talk about this movie here but do keep in mind that many points will actually apply to original one too (both pros and cons). The plot involves 12 jurors attempting to make an important decision on Chechnya teenager charged with the murder of his Russian step father. The jurors are accommodated in school gym, which for me was one of the major pros and works so well with the script, as the actors got some props like piano, soccer ball, wheel chair, weights and which are all used at one point or other to great success. Also the huge space allows the actors free movement around the gym, to reconstruct the crime scene based on floor plans, plus one of the best scene in the movie would not have been possible if not for the space. Pros: The characters are well defined, everyone gets chance to explain their situation and find relevance to the case, or why their vote is swinging from guilty to not guilty and so forth. The actors performing their respective characters are very believable. The film moves at a good pace and at times explodes out with some great acting. One of such scene is when a cab driver explains "what if" scenario to producer sitting on a wheel chair, it is as good as it gets and the actors performing this are in top form. The use of wheelchair, gym instruments, soccer ball and space just makes it even more worth watching. Then there is a scene where doctor starts dancing with the knife is again top quality. There are other scenes too which are equally good and wonderfully played by all the actors. Dialogues are at times really witty (esp. when taxi driver talks about his new girlfriend), dramatic, and emotional at times. Nikita Mikhalkov is at the top of his game, direction wise. Then there is a little twist towards the end which makes movie even good. Cons: The only con with the movie is the way jurors come to the decision which is solely based on the guess work and their better judgments of character and people. But again it is already made clear to us that the defense lawyer didn't present the case with great enthusiasm, so eventually all the jurors reasoning actually makes sense to us, even though not supported by actual evidence. But then in the end we know for fact that the boy is indeed innocent, and we can finally sigh, good work jurors!! You might really enjoy 12 even if either you haven't seen 12 Angry Men, or if you did watch English classic and don't fall in comparison trap. I enjoyed and liked both these movies!