Grigori Rasputin: The sea brings comfort, and the waves they talk. The sun shines on the water as it gently rises. You can see the face of God when you look at the sun. Your soul forgets everything as you wake from the dreams of life's worries. For the joy lifts your heart, and your soul sees the wisdom of life, and beauty. Indescribable beauty. Is the pain gone?
Alexei: Yes.
Alan Rickman as Rasputin sounds like a good idea (he is Snape, after all), but somehow it didn't quite work for me. While he shows us the darker side of Rasputin, he doesn't quite capture the charisma that drew people to him. Rasputin shouldn't just be creepy and vulgar. There was a charming, cunning side to him, without which I don't think he could have gotten so close to the royal family. Tom Baker, who played Grigori Rasputin in the Nicholas and Alexandra movie I reviewed earlier, was the perfect Rasputin in my mind (Tyler agrees with me). He is exactly how I imagine him, and he looks just like Rasputin and has his crazy eyes to boot.
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| Alan Rickman, photo of the real Grigori Rasputin, and Tom Baker. |
Ian McKellen also wasn't my favorite as Tsar Nicholas II. Just not right for the part.
The movie did show a more scientific explanation for Rasputin's success at healing young Alexi Romanov. A doctor argues that Rasputin is using hypnosis to lower Alexei's blood pressure, which made sense. Why this upset the doctor is what baffled me. All that matters is that it was working. The truth is, whether through hypnosis or the power of prayer, or even if his presence was just soothing because Alexi believed in him, Rasputin's being there did help, so the doctor grumbling about it just feels like sour grapes (or jealousy).
The end was, as usual, traumatic. While I am interested in the Romanovs, I am a little weary of watching their unhappy end -it's depressing.
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| Alexandra and Nicholas in the film and a photo of the real Nicholas II and Alexandra. |
Having published two books on Rasputin, one of them the memoirs of my great-great uncle who was Rasputin's secretary, I'm gratified that you understand that Rasputin was not the dark, evil demon the aristocracy (and subsequently history) painted him as. He did not believe in hypnosis, feeling it was the work of the devil. However, he was an herbal and empathic healer.
ReplyDeleteThe doctors were angry because of their egos. They were doctors and could do nothing for the Tsarevitch, but this peasant could ease his symptoms. It mattered to them, very much, who got credited with helping the boy.
For more information, visit my site The Real Rasputin at http://therealrasputin.wordpress.com
Check out: "Rasputin: The Memoirs of His Secretary" by Aron Simanovitch (translated and annotated by Delin Colón)
Also: "Rasputin and The Jews: A Reversal of History" by Delin Colón
Both are a very different view of Rasputin than has ever been written about.
I will certainly check those out!
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