The story is set in 1942 in the impenetrable, dense forests along the western Soviet border. In his second feature film, recent Cannes FIPRESCI award winner Sergei Loznitsa presents a drama, whose sad hero is railway worker Sushenya, a man unjustly accused of collaborating with the enemy. The film excels not only for its sophisticated narrative and fine visuals, but also for its equally superb soundtrack.
1942. Nazi troops have occupied the western Soviet Union, brutally crushing all resistance. When a train is derailed the saboteurs are rounded up and executed. Only one man, Sushenya, is spared. Sushenya knows no one will believe he is innocent and he’ll be branded a traitor. Sergei Loznitsa has been making outstanding documentaries for over ten years. Two years ago the bleak pessimism of his first feature, My Joy, hit Cannes audiences like a slap in the face. His second feature, inspired by a novel by Vasili Bykov, follows two partisans on a mission to capture and bring to justice a former comrade who they believe has betrayed them. In the course of their adventures, set mainly deep in the forest, the characters of the three men are gradually revealed. The only one with any moral integrity proves to be Sushenya himself, who is calmly resigned to his fate. The success of this dignified war movie without a single battle scene owes much to Oleg Mutu’s camerawork and Vladimir Svirsky’s performance as Sushenya.
128 min / Color, 35 mm
Director Sergei Loznitsa
/ Screenplay Sergei Loznitsa podle novely / based on the novel by Vasil Bykov
/ Dir. of Photography Oleg Mutu
/ Editor Danielius Golovnitski
/ Producer Heino Deckert
/ Production ma.ja.de.fiction
/ Cast Vladimir Svirski, Vlad Abashin, Sergei Kolesov, Nikita Peremotovs, Julia Peresild, Kirill Petrov
/ Contact The Match Factory
Sergei Loznitsa (b. 1964, Baranovichi, Belarus) grew up in Kiev, where he took a degree from the local Polytechnic Institute. For many years he has been interested in the development of artificial intelligence. He graduated from Moscow’s VGIK in 1997, and began producing his own documentaries in St. Petersburg, including Portrait (Portret, 2002), which won a Special Jury Mention at KVIFF 2003. Artel (2006) took Best Documentary under 30 Minutes at the 2007 Karlovy Vary festival. His other films have been awarded at festivals in Oberhausen, Leipzig, and Kraków, and they are regularly presented at Karlovy Vary. Loznitsa has lived in Germany since 2001. My Joy (Schastye moe, 2010), screened in the Open Eyes section at KVIFF 2010, is the director’s feature debut, and was selected to compete at Cannes. His latest film, In the Fog, also competed for the Palme d’Or.
The Match Factory
Domstrasse 60, 50668, Cologne
Germany
Phone: +49 221 539 7090
E-mail: [email protected]
Sergei Loznitsa
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