Overview
- Loznitsa’s narrative feature adapts Georgy Demidov’s 1969 novella, rooted in the author’s testimony as a Soviet political prisoner.
- It follows a young prosecutor, Kornyev, who uncovers NKVD torture and coerced confessions during the height of Stalin’s purges.
- Reviews note an austere, chamber-like design with static, wintry compositions by Oleg Mutu and patient cutting that underscores bureaucratic dread.
- The film premiered in Cannes Competition in 2025 and now arrives to critics drawing parallels to today’s ‘post-truth’ anxieties.
- The release runs 118 minutes and was financed by Dutch, Latvian, German, Lithuanian, and Romanian partners.