Western frontiers of the USSR, 1942. The region is under German occupation, and local partisans are fighting a brutal resistance campaign. A train is derailed not far from the village, where Sushenya, a rail worker, lives with his family. Innocent Sushenya is arrested with a group of saboteurs, but the German officer makes a decision not to hang him with the others and sets him free. Rumours of Sushenya’s treason spread quickly, and partisans Burov and Voitik arrive from the forest to get revenge. As the partisans lead their victim through the forest, they are ambushed, and Sushenya finds himself one-to-one with his wounded enemy. Deep in an ancient forest, where there are neither friends nor enemies, and where the line between treason and heroism disappears, Sushenya is forced to make a moral choice under immoral circumstances. —In The Fog official website
Sergey Loznitsa was born September 5th, 1964 in the city of Baranovitchi, in Belarus. At that time Belarus was part of the Soviet Union. Later Sergey’s family moved to Kiev, Ukraine, where Sergey finished high school.
In 1981 Sergey applied and was admitted to Kiev Polytechnic Institute, with the major in applied mathematic and control systems. In 1987 he graduated with a degree in engineering and mathematics.
From 1987 through 1991 Sergey was employed as a scientist at the Institute of Cybernetics. He was involved in the development of expert systems, artificial intelligence, and decision-making processes.
In addition to his main job, Sergey worked as a translator from Japanese. During that time Sergey developed a strong interest in cinematography, and in 1991 he applied to Russian State Institute of Cinematography, in Moscow. After passing a very vigorous selection process, Sergey was admitted to the Institute. He studied in the studio of Nana Dzhordzhadze. read more
Loznitsa’s cinematography is what immediately shines here, framing his drama with immediacy, obliqueness and naturalism - quotidian, resignation - and muting, insofar as humanising, its wartime viscera. While one could accuse the contemplative aesthetic, comprising also of many a single take, of being concerted an effort - not precluding its didactic commentary, or less than seamless non-linearity - a palpable stoicism belies such defamation to indulge a distinct, slow-burning tableaux, while even managing a pertinent pairing within the yearbook in Shortland’s Lore.
Great picture. Kind of slow pace, but the amazing photography and the astonishing screenplay produced one of the best movies I've watched lately.
Three men enter the forest; two to execute the third. They are attacked and have to depend on each other as they move slowly and inexorably through the fog, with occasional, ominous sounds of battle at some unknown proximity. We gradually learn why the men set out toward their initial goal and how they were led to the choice.
I like it, it uses a very interesting way to narrate a story, make you do the connections and showing just what it take to understand it. A little slow, but not boring.
The festival arrives at a close, with films in competition from David Cronenberg, Sergei Loznitsa, Im Sang-soo, and Jeff Nichols.
On the opening day of the 2012 Cannes Film Festival: a poster round-up of the films in competition.
Cronenberg, Resnais, Carax, Hong, Kiarostami, Reygadas, Wakamatsu, Miike…
Sergei Loznitsa vuelve después de su primera película de ficción “Mi Felicidad”, con “En la Niebla” una adaptación de una novela de Vasily Bykov, sobreviviente de la gran guerra patriótica. Lonitza… read review