In the Fog

V tumane

MS14

Genre

Drama, War

Director

Sergei Loznitsa

Run time

2h 2min

Cast

Vladimir Svirski, Vlad Abashin, Vlad Ivanov, Sergei Kolesov

IN THE FOG is a carefully-calibrated three-hander from Sergei Loznitsa, its slow, precise rhythms playing out to compelling effect.

IN THE FOG is adapted from a late novel of the same name by Vasil Bykov, the renowned Belorussian writer whose wartime experiences formed the basis of much of his work. Loznitsa calibrates Bykov’s story into another wheeling film to follow, its continuous yet more restrained movement involving three protagonists who circle each other, a village, and, ultimately, the truth. But the wheel spins for Mother Russia as well – a sadistic villager now in bed with the Germans was just as much of a bastard for the Soviets, one character points out, and, probably, he will be again.

Loznitsa’s noble protagonist is a doomed fatalist, undone as much by the events that conspire against him as by his own unshakeable moral rigor. He is Sushenya (Svirski), taken from his family in the middle of the night by Burov (Abashin), a partisan fighter in 1942. Burov and his sidekick Voitik (Kolesov) are hiding out in the hills and forests, waging guerilla warfare against the German army.

It’s Loznitsa’s intellectual approach and his technical team’s interpretation that mark IN THE FOG out. Of note is Kirill Shuvalov’s design and in particular Vladimir Golovnitski’s remarkable sound work. With no score, he underscores the film’s stillness at just the right level, whether it be the distant sound of wolves or the simple noises of the forest, all perfectly stressed. Coupled with Loznitsa’s slow pacing this very Russian tragedy is a jewel which will surely only burnish with time.

Fionnuala Halligan, Screen International

Genre

Drama, War

Director

Sergei Loznitsa

Run time

2h 2min

Cast

Vladimir Svirski, Vlad Abashin, Vlad Ivanov, Sergei Kolesov

IN THE FOG is a carefully-calibrated three-hander from Sergei Loznitsa, its slow, precise rhythms playing out to compelling effect.

IN THE FOG is adapted from a late novel of the same name by Vasil Bykov, the renowned Belorussian writer whose wartime experiences formed the basis of much of his work. Loznitsa calibrates Bykov’s story into another wheeling film to follow, its continuous yet more restrained movement involving three protagonists who circle each other, a village, and, ultimately, the truth. But the wheel spins for Mother Russia as well – a sadistic villager now in bed with the Germans was just as much of a bastard for the Soviets, one character points out, and, probably, he will be again.

Loznitsa’s noble protagonist is a doomed fatalist, undone as much by the events that conspire against him as by his own unshakeable moral rigor. He is Sushenya (Svirski), taken from his family in the middle of the night by Burov (Abashin), a partisan fighter in 1942. Burov and his sidekick Voitik (Kolesov) are hiding out in the hills and forests, waging guerilla warfare against the German army.

It’s Loznitsa’s intellectual approach and his technical team’s interpretation that mark IN THE FOG out. Of note is Kirill Shuvalov’s design and in particular Vladimir Golovnitski’s remarkable sound work. With no score, he underscores the film’s stillness at just the right level, whether it be the distant sound of wolves or the simple noises of the forest, all perfectly stressed. Coupled with Loznitsa’s slow pacing this very Russian tragedy is a jewel which will surely only burnish with time.

Fionnuala Halligan, Screen International

Info

Rating

Under 14 Not Recommended

Production year

2012

Global distributor

Pimedate Ööde Filmifestival MTÜ

Local distributor

Pimedate Ööde Filmifestival MTÜ

In cinema

11/26/2012