Short film Empire is based on a radio drama Sorry, Wrong Number by the American writer Lucille Fletcher. Actually, Sokurov draws on a single theme forming the background for the story of the thriller — the woman's illness… The heroine is bed–ridden and her only means of communication with the outside world is her telephone — until a killer interrupts the conversation… Sokurov removes all the dialogues, leaving us alone with the heroine — “a living skeleton” among the refined, with a touch of Modern–style, furnishings — who is listening to a radio broadcasting of Traviata, with its pleas for mercy and love. An elegant coffin–home is the spatial centre and symbolization of the entire film. And inside the coffin we certainly see the actress — the famous Russian ballerina Alla Osipenko who plays not only the heroine but also her own self. This metaphoric cinema–image bears an allusion to the great “handicapped” Sarah Bernhardt who was reported to sleep in a coffin, as well as to the entire complex of aesthetised Decadence, converting an apology of Death into a lifestyle. Here is the key to the code of the title. Empire is a style that attempted to reanimate the dead ancient harmony. The heroine of Sokurov's film communicates with her phone as the only partner, and sort of interferes with the beyond, attracting this air — intangible yet saturated with danger. It is from the radio air that she accumulates both pleasure and tranquillity — the aria of dying yet beloved Violetta, while the killer's silhouette materializes from the phone air. A chamber pot, overturned and spilt by the killer in haste, remains the only evidence of human activities in this boudoir of Death. Sokurov's metaphor, clad in naturalistic details, produces the effect of ironic disclosure: “a wet spot” is left after a symbol. The film was shot as a study work of a VGIK student S.Sidorov. At that time Sokurov did not have a chance to launch a project of his own, therefore he used this possibility to work. Visual conception of this film anticipates a considerable number of Sokurov's future experiments: light that models the space, levelling of colours, correlation of contrasting textures.
白客,杨子姗,陈柏霖,马天宇,刘循子墨,吴翊歌,易小星,曾志伟,赵文瑄,贾玲,孔连顺,佟丽娅,乔任梁,小爱,张本煜,葛布,柯达,赵英俊,韩寒
亚当·桑德勒,詹妮弗·安妮斯顿,妮可·基德曼,尼克·斯旺森,布鲁克琳·黛克,拜莉·麦迪逊,格里芬·格鲁克,戴夫·马休斯,凯文·尼龙,瑞秋·德拉彻,艾伦·卡瓦特,丹·帕特里克,敏卡·凯利,杰姬·桑德勒
魏翔,王智,岳亮,艾伦,王子异,周大勇,韩笑,建康,刘沐琪,刘斯博,刘雪涛,于白水,张恒瑞,于洋,马旭东,大力,张芝华
亚伦·泰勒-约翰逊,科洛·葛蕾丝·莫瑞兹,尼古拉斯·凯奇,克里斯托夫·梅兹-普莱瑟,马克·斯特朗,琳德西·冯塞卡,埃文·彼得斯,克拉克·杜克,黛博拉·特维斯,Garrett M. Brown,苏菲·吴
于和伟,郭麒麟,倪虹洁,许恩怡,张子贤,冯雷,吕行,刘美含,丁文博,周放,安冬,宁浩,徐峥,高叶,岳小军,刘桦,刘仪伟,宋方金,方龄
罗美兰,金武烈,罗文姬,尹敬浩,宋永彰,温宙完,赵汉哲,孙钟学,曹秀香,张东柱
哈维尔·巴登,马里塞尔·阿尔瓦雷斯,布兰卡·波蒂略,鲁本·奥查迪亚诺,爱德华·费尔南德斯,成泰燊,罗晋
菲利普·拉肖,爱丽丝·戴维,樊尚·德扎尼亚,塔雷克·布达里,朱利安·阿鲁蒂,格雷瓜尔·鲁迪格,大卫·马赛,热拉尔·朱尼奥,克洛蒂尔·蔻洛,菲利普·杜克斯纳,夏洛特·加布里斯,大卫·赛勒斯,菲利普·布里戈德,恩佐·托马斯尼,弗拉基米尔·胡巴特
菲利普·拉肖,艾洛蒂·丰唐,塔雷克·布达里,朱利安·阿鲁蒂,纳塔莉·贝伊,迪迪埃·布尔东,阿丽尔·朵巴丝勒,热拉尔·朱尼奥,乔治斯·科拉菲斯,凯瑟琳·本吉吉,菲利普·杜克斯纳,丽姆·柯里奇,加德·艾尔马莱,梅迪·萨东,雷杜安·布格拉巴,亚历山德拉·拉米,菲利普·勒卢什,巴斯卡·欧比斯伯,帕特里克·费欧里,帕科·布瓦松,弗朗索瓦·雷蒙,米歇尔·范德-迈伦,埃洛迪·戈达尔,艾丽莎·施维耶
米奇·麦迪森,马克·埃德尔斯坦,尤拉·鲍里索夫,卡伦·卡拉古利安,瓦谢·托夫马西扬,阿列克谢·谢列布里亚科夫,达里娅·叶卡马索娃,艾薇·沃尔克,林赛·诺明顿,埃米莉·韦德,埃伦娜·古雷维奇,露娜·索菲娅·米兰达,罗斯·布罗达尔,查尔顿·拉马,玛莎·扎克,保罗·韦斯曼,索菲娅·卡纳布齐