This documentary is beautifully filmed. It is an amazing view into this small world made up of fascinating contrasts. The tattoos themselves seem to encompass it all, the beauty, the sadness, the organization that the prisoners have created in their community of exaggerated human condition, and the reality of the crimes that the tattoos represent.
August 10, 2008Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R29UST37HXB5UU April 24, 2008 |  | Extremely well done documentary |  |
The video does a great job of documenting life in a Russian prison. While not as detailed in the history and meaning of individual symbols as the Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopedias by Danzig Baldaev et al. it does a wonderful job of capturing the stories of a number of prisoners. Hearing their tones of voice and seeing their expressions convey the emotion much more than any book possibly could. Also of note, it covers the recent changes where wealthy criminals or people wanting to emulate the Vory v Zakone, "Thieves with a Code," are copying the tattoos or buying their way into the status of Vor, without regard to the code of the Vory. The stories of the prisoners are so compelling and the emotion so well captured I think this film would be appreciated by a wide audience, and not just people with interests in tattoos, Russia, organized crime, or prison life.
April 6, 2008The opening scene of Alix Lambert's "The Mark of Cain" immediately draws the viewer into the Russian prison system with a haunting song that sets the mood. This remarkable and highly effective film goes on to introduce music and light and air into a dreary, dark, and fetid world never before laid bare. It was compiled from countless hours of footage revealing the inmates' stories, the age-old evolving tattoo culture, and the politics and psychology of a hidden subworld. It is in no way a pompous, voice-over lesson. It is composed of the prisoners' own words as they tell how their society is structured, why they have been relegated to it, what their pasts consisted of, and what they dream of. A few of them are chilling, many are quite charming. There is palpable, unspoken compassion in this presentation that lets us absorb a wealth of disturbing information about humanity and inhumanity.
March 26, 2008I bought this about three and half years ago directly from Alix and have watched it about 25 times since then and have let many friends and tattoo artists view it also. It is a nice documentary and there is a definate human element that comes through in it. It actually is a depressing but very good film. You folks are now lucky to be able to get this on DVD, I paid $60 dollars for this film, (not that I regret it!) but Alix had to transfer it from VHS to DVD for me which I so much appreciated. Purchase it, learn from it, enjoy it!!!
March 3, 2008More reviews at Amazon.com ...
Daily Birthdays
