Karenina & I (2017)

The actor Gøril Mauseth goes on a 11.000 kilometer travel with the Trans-Siberian to play Anna Karenina in a new language in Leo Tolstoj's Russia, discovering the language, and the reasons Tolstoj wrote what he wrote, changing her forever.

Film Overview
"Karenina & I" is a 2017 Norwegian documentary directed by Tommaso Mottola. The movie uses a non-traditional take a look at the timeless novel "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy, through the lens of Mottola's spouse, starlet and film storyteller Gørild Mauseth. The film integrates Mauseth's personal journey to play the lead in a phase adaptation of Tolstoy's unique throughout Russia, with a narrative of "Anna Karenina", creating a progressive blend of documentary, drama, travelogue, and literary analysis.

Plot and Narration
The narrative follows Mauseth as she starts a train journey across Russia to Vladivostok, where she will participate in a stage production of "Anna Karenina" performed in Russian language regardless of her restricted knowledge of the language. Throughout her journey, Mauseth studies the unique and assesses its styles of love, society, and gender, simultaneously exploring her functions as a starlet, a mother, and a lady. She likewise explores Anna Karenina's character, comparing and inspecting her life choices, passions, and fate.

Cinematic Style and Technique
"Karenina & I" shifts two narratives onto each other to produce a layered understanding of Tolstoy's unique and Mauseth's experience. Various scenes feature Mauseth studying and narrating the novel, juxtaposed with stunning shots of the Russian landscape passing by her train window. This visual approach successfully mirrors Mauseth's train journey with Anna Karenina's character arc, both of which are affected by their relationship to the societal norms of their particular periods.

Insights and Highlights
"Karenina & I" provides a fresh context to the traditional book by Tolstoy, presenting it not simply as a historic piece but a novel acutely aware of female autonomy, societal pressures, and the human condition. The movie also lights up the stakes of interpretation and the enormous involvement required from an actor to embody a character. As Mauseth immerses herself in the function of Anna Karenina, she contends with the difficulties of playing a complicated character while negotiating the demands of her personal life.

Conclusions and Reception
Applying a genre-blending style, "Karenina & I" serves as a testimony to the timelessness of Tolstoy's work and the typically underestimated depths of a star's engagement with a character. This initial and thought-provoking movie even more exposes audiences to the richness of Russian culture. It has actually been popular for its insightful and intriguing take on the traditional work, paired with the outstanding efficiency of Mauseth in difficult cultural and linguistic circumstances. By merging aspects of individual journey, cultural exploration, and literary analysis, the movie succeeds in deconstructing Tolstoy's character of Anna Karenina and the world she embodied, adding to a much deeper appreciation of this classic literary masterpiece.

Top Cast

  • Gørild Mauseth (small)
    Gørild Mauseth
    Gørild Mauseth
  • Liam Neeson (small)
    Liam Neeson
    Leo Tolstoy
  • Sonia Bergamasco (small)
    Sonia Bergamasco
  • Evgeniia Guliashcheva
  • Valentin Zaporozhets
    Vronsky
  • Evgeny Veigel
    Karenin