- Search:
- Time Out worldwide
- Web

Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases

My Joy (2010)

Director: Sergei Loznitsa

Average user rating

1 review

Movie review

From Time Out Online

This bold first feature from Ukrainian documentary-maker Loznitsa (the only debut in the Cannes competition) revolves around a nightmarish road trip and combines a realist visual style with a mode of storytelling that moves disconcertingly between past and present and invites us to get lost in a maze of cause and effect. Georgy (Nemets) is a truckdriver on a job in rural Russia. He encounters a Kafka-esque police road block, a prostitute who reacts badly to his kindness and a war veteran who appears in his cab and whose anecdotes take us back to his return from the German front as a young soldier in 1946. When Georgy takes a turning off the road and shares a meal with tramps, he finds himself stuck in a brutal, lawless village, a place we see both now and in some unspecified time in the past. There are hints of Tarkovsky in the poetic exploration of place and memory and the film is a demanding, difficult work. But the sense of a Dantean journey and a vision of utter hell are powerfully conveyed.

Author: Dave Calhoun

Time Out Online

Email Tweet Share

User reviews of this film

Julia said...

Posted on Oct 01 2010 18:20 It is not an easy film to watch. Filmmaker’s documentary background is reflected in the way the film was shot. A lot of realistic scenes that make the characters more personal for your perception.
It reminded me of Bergman’s human degradation investigation.
How does a human spirit reacts to a chain of unfortunate reality.
I would recommend watching it. It might not be the most enjoyable experience, but the effect and deep understanding will stay with you forever.
The artist’s build up of certain feelings paid off in the end of the film by painting a clear picture of cause and effect in human destiny and character.
Julia Lachimova
Edit My Review

Report as inappropriate