Donbass is a region in Eastern Ukraine that’s occupied by various criminal gangs, the Ukrainian regular army, supported by volunteers, and separatist gangs, supported by Russian troops. In "Donbass," the film, the events that are richly-depicted by Ukraine-born Sergei Loznitsa (“Maidan,” “Austerlitz,” “My joy”) in stunningly-realistic fashion bring the point across, with great clarity, that this ... more >
ARCHIVES
CANNES FESTIVAL (DAY TWO) The horrors of war writ large in DONBASS
Film was shown as part of the Un Certain Regard program
Valeriu Andriuta, Thorsten Merten, and Boris Kamorzin
Directed by Sergei Loznitsa
CANNES FESTIVAL, “Krotkaya” (“A Gentle Creature”)
Slot Machine / Haut et Court
Vasilina Makovtseva, Valeriu Andriuta and Sergei Kolesov
Directed by Sergei Loznitsa
There’s something mildly sadistic about a master-filmmaker botching his own, brilliant, film with an underwhelming ending, such as that which Sergei Loznitsa did with “Krotkaya” (“A gentle creature” in the Russian original). A woman whose husband is in prison gets the care package she’d sent to her husband returned to her. A delivery attempt was made, person is no longer at that jail cell. In ... more >
CANNES FESTIVAL – The Russians are coming
Andrey Zvyagintsev and his "Leviathan" and Sergei Loznitsa's "Maidan"
"Leviathan" will be in competition series
Two directors from Russia are bringing their films to Cannes this year. One, Andrey Zviagintsev, will be competing, while the other, Sergei Loznitsa, will get to show his film in one of the special, non-competitive sections. One of the films that’s being talked about in anticipation of the Cannes Festival's launch next week year is Zviagintsev’s “Leviathan,” which could take home some Cannes ... more >
INTERVIEW-Sergei Loznitsa on presenting “In the fog” at Cannes
This is the "My Joy" director's second visit to the festival
Russian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa will be at the Cannes Festival again this year, competing for the Palme D'Or. This time he presents "In the Fog," a feature film adaptation of a novel set in the darkest recesses of World War II, when Russians accused each other of fomenting with the German enemy and men faced difficult moral choices. The memory of war is a difficult burden to bear but the need ... more >