My Joy

14 March, 2015 - 19:30
Cinematek, Brussels

Schaste moe (My joy)

Sergei Loznitsa
,
DE, NL, UA
,
2010
,
colour
,
127'

For his feature debut Loznitsa crafted a fable qua cautionary tale of a hopelessly naïve truck driver led by an unexpected detour on a long and increasingly strange voyage into the dark heart of post-Communist Russia. Channeling the portraits of Russian national character gathered in Loznitsa’s early documentaries, My Joy transforms the driver’s picaresque encounters into a kind of choral voice singing a darkly satiric dirge mourning the troubled state of 21st century Russia. Shot by celebrated Romanian cinematographer Oleg Mutu (4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days; The Death of Mr. Lazarescu), My Joy is animated by dynamic camerawork that gives a fierce energy and raw beauty to Loznita’s ultimately savage critique of the endemic corruption, violence and avarice that, he argues, have taken a cancerous hold on the national psyche of Russia today.