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[Night Watch, (NOCHNOI DOZOR) ], is a truly breathtaking fantasy thriller by Timur Bekmambetov, which screened at Berlin and Tribeca this year. Based on the third book in a science-fiction trilogy by Russian author Sergey Lukyanenko, [Night Watch, (NOCHNOI DOZOR) ] plays with the abiding sci-fi theme of the struggle between good and evil - but it delivers with abundant originality, tension and style.
The world of the film comprises parallel realities: one inhabited by humans, the other by an assortment of wizards, soothsayers, vampires and the like, known as 'Others'. The humans have no knowledge of this alternative reality. The Others are split between those serving the Light and those serving the Dark. Eons earlier these opposing forces battled to a standstill, eventually reaching a truce whereby they must refrain from tampering with the human world. This is policed through 'the watch'; the 'day watch' is undertaken by the Dark and the 'night watch' by the Light.
Fast-forward to 1992 and the young Anton Gorodetsky discovers he has been chosen as an Other. It is only a matter of time before an age-old prophecy begins to take shape and hell breaks loose on an unsuspecting populace.
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D Timur Bekmambetov P Anatoly Maximov, Konstantin Ernst S Timur Bekmambetov, Laeta Kalogridis WS Fox Searchlight L Russian w/English subtitles TD 35mm/col/2005/116mins
Timur Bekmambetov was born in Guryev, Soviet Union (now Kazakhstan), in 1961. His films include [Peshavar Waltz] (1994), [The Arena] (2001).