Au service du tsar: A dusty trip through imperial whispers

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, only if you have a soft spot for pre-war French melodrama that doesn’t mind its own perfume. If you’re looking for a brisk, modern pace, you’ll probably find this thing moves like a glacier in a velvet coat. But for the folks who like staring at ornate wallpaper and watching people look deeply concerned in dimly lit rooms? You’ll probably have a decent time.

It’s not exactly a masterpiece that’ll change your life. It feels more like a relic you found in an attic that smells like mothballs and expensive brandy.

The Vibe

There’s a specific kind of *weight* to the performances here. Everyone is acting like their life depends on the next sentence, which is fair considering the context, but it can get a bit much. Pierre Richard-Willm holds his chin at a very specific angle for about eighty percent of the runtime. I kept waiting for him to just, I don’t know, blink normally?

The sets are gorgeous in that slightly faded, painted-backdrop sort of way. You can tell they were trying to capture a grandeur that was already slipping through their fingers. It reminds me a bit of the atmosphere in Passaporto rosso, where the environment does just as much heavy lifting as the actors.

Odd Little Moments

• There’s a scene involving a letter that lasts roughly an eternity. It’s just paper, but they treat it like it’s a ticking bomb.
• The lighting in the background of the ballroom scenes is actually pretty clever. It hides the fact that there are probably only twelve extras back there.
• The way they handle the dialogue—it’s very precise, very sharp, like cutting fruit with a razor blade.

I found myself getting distracted by the costumes. There’s a military uniform in the second act that seems to have more buttons than I have socks in my drawer. Why so many buttons? Nobody knows. 🧥

Final Thoughts (or lack thereof)

The movie doesn't really try to explain itself to you. It just expects you to get it. If you don't? Well, it doesn't really seem to care. That kind of stubbornness is almost admirable, in a weird way. It’s definitely not as frantic as something like Gehetzte Frauen, which is a blessing, honestly. Sometimes you just want to sit in a room with people who take their misery very, very seriously.

Watch it on a rainy Tuesday. Maybe skip the snacks and just let the black and white flicker wash over you. It’s a strange little trip back to a place that never really existed, at least not the way they show it here.