I almost turned it off when the interviewer began arguing with Aleksandr Isayevich on folklore. It was such a silly point to try on which to turn the man from his main argument, but Solzhenitsyn managed to turn the conversation back to his major thrust with patience and grace.
+Brad Hankinson The "interviewer" is Sokurov, a great director and artist in his own right. I agree that in this case he tried too hard to push the conversation towards his own point, but he's not just an ordinary opinionated guy, so he could afford to discuss with Solzhenitsyn on certain topics without being disrespectful.
Fair enough. However, how much did that brief dissonance win for the subject of the interview or the interviewer, or us, the audience? What about the human heart, Alexandr Isayevich? What about human pride, and human vice, and our soiled and despised true heroes who are eclipsed by the light of our beautiful false ones? Tell us of them, sir! And that's what I wanted to see and hear, and why I found Sokurov had missed the mark of excellence--a day or a week with Solzhenitsyn! It should be a crime to speak to the man without the upward inflection of a question at the end of each phrase.
I almost turned it off when the interviewer began arguing with Aleksandr Isayevich on folklore. It was such a silly point to try on which to turn the man from his main argument, but Solzhenitsyn managed to turn the conversation back to his major thrust with patience and grace.
+Brad Hankinson The "interviewer" is Sokurov, a great director and artist in his own right. I agree that in this case he tried too hard to push the conversation towards his own point, but he's not just an ordinary opinionated guy, so he could afford to discuss with Solzhenitsyn on certain topics without being disrespectful.
Fair enough. However, how much did that brief dissonance win for the subject of the interview or the interviewer, or us, the audience? What about the human heart, Alexandr Isayevich? What about human pride, and human vice, and our soiled and despised true heroes who are eclipsed by the light of our beautiful false ones? Tell us of them, sir! And that's what I wanted to see and hear, and why I found Sokurov had missed the mark of excellence--a day or a week with Solzhenitsyn! It should be a crime to speak to the man without the upward inflection of a question at the end of each phrase.