On Drakon
Listening
So here’s the thing. This is not a perfect movie. It can easily be interpreted—and was possibly even intended—along very not-good story lines, such as the ‘oh the man can only be good if the woman saves him and is willing to risk her life to love/be with/heal him’. Which I think we can all agree is a seriously bad trope that’s all too common. There aren’t enough female characters–I wouldn’t say this movie passes the Bechdel test. And, just as a bonus, we have a male hero who can, and frequently does, turn into a violent monster whose sole objective in life is to metaphorically rape and murder our heroine. This is objectively terrible.
And yet.
I am so drawn to and compelled by this odd, sometimes awkward, film. I mean, I watched it three times in two days, and have no doubt that I’m going to wind up buying it to watch it again.
I’m just fascinated by the surprisingly complicated story being told here beneath the easy-going romantic demeanor. I’d queue it up with the intention to just fastforward to the bits that I really enjoyed, and then just ended up sitting through all of it because I enjoyed all of it. It now ranks among my favorite fairy tale films, alongside Stardust and The Princess Bride and Jean Cocteau’s La Belle et Le Bete.
So let’s unpick this a bit. What on earth is it about this Russian movie, with a kidnapping dragon and a captive princess, that makes my (feminist) heart beat fast? Spoilers ahoy.
Seguir leyendo
