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6.4/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.4/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Karmelyuk remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, you probably already know if you want to watch Karmelyuk. If you are into old-school historical epics where everyone is shouting about freedom and land rights, you will have a good time. If you need snappy dialogue or modern editing, you should probably just skip this and rewatch In Old Arizona instead.
The whole thing feels like it was filmed in a different century, which it was. It captures that specific 1930s vibe where every scene feels like it's fighting the limitations of the camera equipment. Sometimes it wins, sometimes it loses.
Yevgeniy Vikul does a lot of heavy lifting here. He has this intense look in his eyes that screams, "I am very tired of these landowners." It works for the most part, even if the script gives him some really clunky lines to chew on.
The pacing is… strange. It lingers on things that don't matter and rushes through the stuff you actually want to see. One minute we are in the middle of a tense standoff, and the next we are watching someone walk across a field for a full minute. It’s a choice, I guess.
It’s not as polished as The Last Parade, but it has more heart. Or maybe just more mud. There is a lot of mud in this movie. They really wanted you to know that the 1830s were not a clean time to be a peasant.
It feels like a movie made by people who really cared about the legend, even if they didn't quite have the budget to make it look epic. You can feel the effort in the crowd scenes. Even if half the crowd looks like they'd rather be doing literally anything else. 🤷♂️
It’s definitely a product of its time. You have to be in a specific mood for this. If you are, it hits in a weird, dusty, historical way. If you aren't, it’s just a long walk through the Ukrainian countryside with a lot of shouting.