War and Peace

I have seen Bondarchuk's classic from the 60s, but it has been so many years that I don't remember those films apart from the outstanding - mostly war - scenes, so I cannot make a comparison between the two versions. However, I think that by television standards, it is a dignified project that does not disgrace its famous literary source, and the actors also suit their roles. Especially Clémence Poésy as the passionate young aristocrat is truly likable. What doesn't sit well with me, though, is Tolstoy himself, who already seemed somewhat nationalist to me when I read that novel once, and his resolution of the characters' fates sometimes - actually quite often - corresponds to his religious and conservative political sentiment. He is like the Solzhenitsyn of the 19th century. Overall impression: 60%. (01/03/2011)