Up Next For SWORD BEARER Director Phillip Yankovsky: Revenge Picture ROCK HEAD

Posted by Todd Brown at 3:01pm.

Posted in Film News , Thriller, Drama, Action, Continental Europe & Russia, indiefilmcafe.

I’ve made no secret of my love for Russian director Phillip Yankovsky and his sci-fi picture The Sword Bearer (Меченосец), which I hesitate to label a superhero film because it so incredibly far removed from the bulk of what that entails though it does indeed revolve around a man with super powers. For my money Yankovsky’s film is the absolute best of the recent crop of Russian genre pictures, one that I place well ahead of the Night Watch flicks that created the current Russian genre frenzy, and while I haven’t yet seen his previous picture - The State Councilor - everything I’ve heard about it says that it is also one impressive piece of work. Yankovsky knows his way around a camera, he knows his way around his characters and he trusts that his audience has a certain degree of intelligence and a willingness to work think for themselves and that makes for some fine film.

All of this makes the news, sketchy as it is, that he’s at work on his next film very happily received. It is one again being produced by Russia’s CTB - the people behind both The Sword Bearer and Mongol - and is titled Каменная башка or Rock Head. A 2008 release is targeted and with the not particularly helpful help of Babelfish I’ve learned that it is a revenge drama revolving around a former boxer gone amnesiac. If I’m reading this correctly it seems that there’s a bit of a Memento influence but time will tell once we see how it turns out ...

Reader Comments

ASIAN FLIX 10/22/2007 @ 5:58pm

Good movie, nor would I classify it as a super hero type movie, but as a story about a man tying to cope with a special power that he knows nothing about or how he got it. A movie with few special effects… but instead, relying on the story (something different for a change). As I said a good movie, but if you are looking for an all out action movie look elsewhere… But if you are looking for a good movie with a good story, then give this one a try.

My only ‘Con’ (unless I missed something somewhere when I watched the movie) is that it does not explain how or why he has this special power.
Todd Brown 10/22/2007 @ 6:32pm

Nope, you didn’t miss anything. The film either doesn’t know, doesn’t care or both.
Vladimir 10/23/2007 @ 3:45am

Yeah, Swordbearer was wonderful.

As for Rock Head, it is not yet in production. It is in “preparation period”.
PhoneyB 10/23/2007 @ 10:14pm

I have to say I really wasn’t a big fan of this film. I agree the photography was absolutely stunning, but the ‘Con’ of the story mentioned above was really a sticking point for me. That being said, I’d check out any film by this director based on his camera style alone. Keep the info coming please!