Venice. 12.

"Sidney Lumet turned Reginald Rose's fine play 12 Angry Men into a splendid movie in 1957 and it has been revisited on stage and television but never better than in Russian filmmaker Nikita Mikhalkov's triumphant new film version titled simply 12," announces Ray Bennett in the Hollywood Reporter. "The essential debate about democratic justice remains, but making the defendant a Chechen youth charged with killing his Russian stepfather permits an illuminating exploration of the post-Soviet era as each juror reveals his background, life choices and prejudices."

For Variety, the film "plays like vintage jazz from a veteran band. Orchestrating his 11 co-actors in virtuoso solos, duets, trios and ensembles, Mikhalkov assures each jury member commands the stage with pathos and panache. Fully exploiting the Chekhov-derived Russian genius for theatricalizing without waxing stagy, 12 marks a triumphant return for the helmer, who received a special Golden Lion for his overall body of work at Venice."

Posted by dwhudson at September 12, 2007 5:38 AM