There is no doubting the scope of his ambition, or the howl of anguish that lies at the heart of this startling, unsettling tale.
This isn’t an overtly political film, but Loznitsa’s vision of Russia is bleak in the extreme. Cruelty and petty corruption are everywhere. “Man is like a wolf to his fellow man,” one character observes – and that’s an understatement. Grotesquerie abounds.
This challenging film requires some patience but the reward is a portrait of Russia that feels like a howl of anguish.
Punishingly bleak, and not always in the most satisfying of ways.
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