Introduction to Soviet Tyranny
You don’t have to exercise a hammer and a sickle to feel the weight of the Soviet tyranny. A solemn drama from Sergei Loznitsa serves as a metaphor for the type of oppression that Russia is experiencing at the moment. The film, "Two Prosecutors", is a slow history of political injustice filled with atmosphere, especially the suffocating, claustrophobic atmosphere of the USSR at the level of Stalin’s large conditioner.
The Film’s Atmosphere and Setting
The film is directed and impressively acted, with a focus on the journey rather than the goal. It reveals how it was to live at a time when personal freedom was almost deleted by widespread authoritarianism. The film’s setting is in 1937, and the story follows a group of prisoners gathered in a courtyard, all of whom look like they have gone through hell. The oldest among them is sent to a cell, where he is commissioned to burn the letters of prisoners.
The Storyline and Characters
The sequence is meaningful and underlines the mere impossibility of justice in a system that is supposed to clean up the resistance on all levels from the bottom up. The film’s guideline is a bold young prosecutor named Kornev, who receives a smuggled letter and appears in prison to deal with the situation. At every step of the way, he looks with hostility, from a series of brutal guards to a repellent supervisor, who keeps trying to get rid of him, and finally to the Attorney General of the USSR.
The World of Fear and Oppression
What is fascinating about "Two Prosecutors" is that nobody rejects Kornev directly, nor do they ever let him know what they really think. This is a world in which everyone is so afraid that the slightest word or the slightest action could end up in prison or possibly in Siberia, that they keep keeping their tongues when they try to strategate through the system. The only person who really speaks his opinion is Kornev, and it is no surprise what happens to him.
The Irony of the Story
The irony is that Kornev believes he is saving the very Marxist revolution that the USSR is supposed to embody. The inmate who wrote the letter, Stepniak, is an old Bolshevik worker who was part of the 1917 uprising and has spent years in prison, tortured for no reason. By trying to bring the case of a revolutionary hero to the highest level of power, Kornev believes that he is fighting corruption in the regime to which he should serve.
The Film’s Message and Reflection
The convincing portrayal of Kornev as a wise and persistent lawyer who is also the last person in which the joke was under Stalin. The film’s journey is a circular and curvy return flight between a rock and a hard place. So life was in the USSR at that time, and it is no secret that life in Russia under Vladimir Putin is hardly different these days. Loznitsa reflects on the past, but for everyone who wants to look, he holds a mirror to the present.
The Director’s Vision
Loznitsa is much less a dupe than the naive young Kornev, and the director finally leaves the viewer back at the same prison in which his film began. The film is a powerful statement about Russian tyranny, both then and today. The director’s vision is clear, and the film’s message is loud and clear.
The Film’s Details
The film is shot in color, but it can also have been made in black and white, showing a world without warmth or hope. The film’s format is 1:1.33, and it is photographed by Oleg Mutu. The film’s runtime is 1 hour and 57 minutes, and it is a Cannes Film Festival competition entry. The film’s cast includes Alexander Kuznetsov, Aleksandr Filippenko, Anatoli Beliy, and Andris Keiss. The film is directed and written by Sergei Loznitsa, based on the book by Georgy Demidov.
