Curtain is lifted on Russia
Filed Under Kitchen Curtain | Posted on June 11, 2008
A quality piece of television has been Jonathan Dimbleby’s five-part journey through Russia.
So far, the journey has been incredibly interesting and absorbing, and this final instalment was no different.
Most of the episode revolved around a visit to Irkutsk, a city that’s been gripped with Aids and prostitution since the fall of communism.
Thankfully, Dimbleby also visited some of the gorgeous countryside in the same region.
Stunning, placid lakes – including one that’s over 25 million years old and dense pine forests rattled past the original route of the Trans-Siberian railway.
Like many BBC documentaries, the camera-work is top-notch, and Dimbleby is an interesting host.
He’s not like many of his contemporaries – like Michael Palin – who overload their programs with narration. Instead, many of the places he visits are left to do the talking, with only occasional interjections.
It’s a successful method, and one that adds a certain sombre poignancy to a documentary about a country that’s full of desolate post-Iron Curtain uncertainty.
Tags: bbc, bbc documentaries, camera work, contemporaries, curta, curtain, dense pine forests, fall of communism, gorgeous countryside, instalment, iron curtain, jonathan, jonathan dimbleby, michael palin, million years, narration, poignancy, prostitution, quality piece, top notch, trans siberian railway, uncertaintyRelated posts
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