Educational Media Reviews Online

Facial expressions and a unique observational style of cinematography tell the story of the most significant life stages – birth, marriage, divorce, and death – in the award-winning documentary, Civil Status. Set in a windowless, cramped bureaucratic office in St. Petersburg, this video’s audience becomes a fly on the wall as Russian citizens enter the scene for a variety of reasons. An arguing couple about to sign divorce papers causes waiting clients to cringe. A desperate husband, unhappy in his marriage and concerned about his sick child, storms out of the office as a result of typical bureaucratic red tape, rules, and regulations. An elderly woman weeps for loss of her loved ones, all passed away in a matter of months, as she waits to pick out her husband’s coffin. And finally, couple after couple shed tears of joy as they solidify their vows in marriage in a bare bones en masse ceremony. The juxtaposition of the staff’s daily duties allows viewers to feel their frustrations, sympathies, and joys, as well as those of the citizens entering the office.

Civil Status has won numerous awards and honorable mentions (Grand Prize and Ecumenical Jury Prize Winner, 2006 Oberhausen International Short Film Festival; Jury First Prize Winner, 2006 Documenta-Madrid Film Festival; Special Mention, 2006 Norwegian Short Film Festival; and Official Selection at the 2006 Rotterdam International Film Festival and 2006 Message to Man Film Festival) despite the grainy black and white quality and subtitle errors translating Russian into English. The documentary’s ability to elicit true emotion in its audience, as well as employ impressive cinematographic methods (a bird’s eye view of a dancing bride and groom, a close-up shot of a mother’s comforting hand rubbing her son’s head, a panorama of the volumes upon volumes of documentation, and effective use of mirrors in the office’s waiting room) are the main strengths of Civil Status, which have undoubtedly lead to its success. For a film that lasts only 29 minutes, a $195 purchase price seems rather expensive, but depending on the intended use, the content quality of this film could be an essential tool to understanding Eastern European culture.