Watch 12 For Free

Powerful

I wanted to but couldn't!

Great Film overall

Crappy film

This movie could be easily transferred to Theater if you want to watch it a live show. 12 people and one room is enough for a great movie (although there are movie with even less actors that are good as this one). If you feel that the plot is going slow, you probably will go over this when watch it for second and every time after. And you'll notice more and more good details that support this story.The message that is sent is what most of us sense that art serves for - to give you nice feeling of importance of every life, to inspire you.

I encountered "12" by accident, and I'm glad I did. I've been into Russian and Soviet films for a very long time; all a part of being a Russophile! In the winter I wear a Red Army issued ushanka, my wrist watch is a Soviet Air Force Sturmanskie, I often have a KGB hip flask in the inside pocket of my motorcycle jacket, and the bike itself is a Russian Ural! From the little I've learned about the ex-Soviet Union and it's military, I gathered enough to get the shocking FULL IMPACT of the ending's meaning.I won't spoil things here... but after seeing the film, look up the Army's SPETZNAZ units, and learn a little about how they're trained and how they operate.After you know that... YOU'LL get the punch line here too."Uncle" isn't what he seems to be...

"In a scene showing a Chechen town the writing on the wall says "Don't shoot. Only women and children here" but only in Russian. In Chechnia all signs like that were written in three languages - Russian, Chechen and Arabic because Middle Eastern mercenaries participating the conflict could not read in Russian. Besides, it's difficult to believe someone would put such a sign and thus indicate there is SOMEONE in there." In Russia EVERYTHING is believable, that's what Nikita Mikhalkov wants to say. This movie is a fiction, don't forget it! But all the stories told in it are possible and the way of thinking of these people may be hard to understand, but it's true. This film is a cut through the Russian Soul and it's great.

This is a masterpiece. The beauty of the film is in its simplicity. Almost the whole thing takes place in a high school gymnasium, around a long table around which the twelve jurors sit. Every performance is superb, including that of the director, who plays the foreman, and Sergei Garmash as the cab driver juror. The screenplay follows the tortuous deliberations, in which every juror has at least one soliloquy. Excellent camera-work and lighting augment the heavy drama.It is more likely in Russia today that twelve whites would end up forming a jury, although less so that no women would be serving. Director Nikita Mikhalkov evidently chose to remain faithful that much to the American movie on which his is based, Twelve Angry Men. One wonders whether it might have been more interesting with women jurors contributing their anguish to the picture, and since this version is simply titled 12, the possibility of including a woman or two (as would be realistic in this day and age) was presumably open. Also, the film is not realistic in the sense that Russia does not have a jury system, therefore this situation would not arise in real life. What Mikhalkov was probably trying to do was to create a morality play, and this he does magnificently. These criticisms are therefore minor. This is a wonderful piece of work.As the film is starting, for those who know Russian, one sees the logo of "Patriotic Films." This may cause groans among those who know more about Russia. Patriotic Russians today seem reactionary and defensive to many Westerners. But Mikhalkov does not dance around the sensitive race issue at the core of the plot, a Chechen boy accused of murdering his stepfather, a Russian military officer, and facing life in prison. Mikhalkov's main interest really is in truth, justice and honesty. The idea of these qualities as components of "patriotism" actually lies at the core of this story, and it is brilliantly executed. By the end, if you can suppress cynicism and believe that this many men of conscience could assemble in one place in Russia today, you will be moved to tears. This is a major achievement.