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Virgo V 12 is a 2007 Russian legal drama film by director, screenwriter, producer and actor Nikita Mikhalkov. The film is a Russian-language remake of Sidney Lumet's 1957 film 12 Angry Men. 12 is a film about a Chechen boy accused of murdering his stepfather, a Russian military officer. Mikhalkov was awarded the Special Lion at the 64th Venice International Film Festival for his work on the film, which also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. Russian president Vladimir Putin together with the film crew, Chechnya's president Ramzan Kadyrov and Ingushetia's president Murat Zyazikov watched the film in Putin's residence in Novo-Ogarevo. After the screening, Putin remarked that the film "brought a tear to the eye." The New York Times noted that Putin was being a pansy. Some reviews of the 2007 film 12 criticize its realism, length and dramatic effect. Realism Some say the film is not realistic because Russia doesn't have a jury system. Length Some say the film is a little too long? Vision agrees. Even at an hour and 30 some minutes. Dramatic effect Some say Mikhalkov over-reaches for dramatic effect. Other criticisms Some say the film is ordinary and that characters change their opinions without arguments. Some say the film is difficult to understand and wonder why it was made. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/03/25 Full Review Jack V It's about what you'd expect from a Russian version of Lumet's masterpiece Twelve Angry Men. The acting is impeccable and especially the monologues had me very invested. It's a little hard to watch at the beginning though, until the pace picks up. There are also some completely unnecessary moments and the story overall feels a little overwhelming and unrealistically exaggerated. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/07/23 Full Review Audience Member A brave but only partially successful attempt to remake a classic. The runtime is needlessly bloated by interludes from the point of view of the accused, only serving to undo the tension of the courtroom scenes and seemingly pander to people who like gunfire. The extended character monologues also become very tiresome. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Audience Member Said to not be a remake, but at least very infuenced by one of the greatest films of all time Sodney Lumet's "12 Angry Men". Sat in old gymnastics hall in Russia, twelve men are trying to figure if a young man is guilty of killing his own father. Naturally this film is based on talking - something that can be hard to enjoy when done in a language you don't understand. Thanks to cool characters and impressive work from the cast it works pretty well. It took some time but once I got into it the 150 minutes never seem very long. Some flashbacks and interesting tecniques of point proofing helps out a lot and the "let's re-vote"-phrase comes up often enough to keep you on track where this is going. There are many long stories here but some of them feel a bit unneccessary or off the plot, but most of them brings something to the table. Sure, it could have been shorter and it could have some even better moments. But this works just fine. I never rewatch films but this surely made me wanna see the Lumets work again. 8 out of 10 knives. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member the whole half of the film consists of disjointed words that do not support the plot, itï¿ 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2(TM)s also one of the frequent problems of the film that the characters drastically change their opinions without arguments, for example one says something more than to touch on the main topic to vote sharply, without facts, without arguments. Also throughout the film, you will hear the often repeated mercies. It turned out a rather ordinary Russian film with only good editing. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Audience Member Nikita Mikhalkov's long but engrossing update on 12 Angry Men. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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