Anna Karenina. La venganza es el perdón

Lavishly staged feature version of the team's TV series. Costumes, imposing interior settings and performances are impressive and carry the piece about as far as it's Imperial horse race but Anna's declining relationship with Vronsky is dragged out interminably and the Manchurian framing story with the Chinese singing girl serves no purpose beyond further vindicating the poor chap.

Elizaveta Boyarskaya is authoritative and great looking but we loose sympathy with her mood shifts rapidly. The actress has been around for a while. She has a small part in the Oliver Hirschbiegel Der UNTERGANG / Downfall. For all her valiant efforts here she becomes the woman with those great changes of wardrobe. The new twists - minimising Vronsky's moving on Anna, a more sympathetic Karenin, giving Vronsky an extended story just weaken the adaptation.

It's doing festivals in an draggy 138 minute version.