Return to tiff.’s home page

My Joy

My Joy

Schastye Moye

Sergei Loznitsa

  • Country: Germany, Ukraine, The Netherlands
  • Year: 2010
  • Language: Russian
  • Producer: Heino Deckert, Oleg Kokhan
  • Executive Producer: Olena Yershova, Od Howell
  • Screenplay: Sergei Loznitsa
  • Runtime: 127
  • Programmes:

Truck driver Georgy sets out on a provincial Russian motorway for a routine delivery but a series of chance encounters see his journey spiral out of control. A roadside police check, a war veteran and a young prostitute lead him to a village from which there appears to be no way out.

screening times

    • Saturday September 11
    • 6:15:00 PM
    • VARSITY 7
    • Monday September 13
    • 2:15:00 PM
    • AMC 4
    • Sunday September 19
    • 8:00:00 PM
    • JACKMAN HALL - AGO

Note: indicates Premium Screening.

official description

A disturbingly outlandish fable that offers a harsh depiction of Russia’s rural hinterland, My Joy was the only debut feature to screen in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it was a favourite of many film critics. Like a horror movie directed by Alain Resnais, Sergei Loznitsa’s narrative feature brims with unsavoury characters scrambling for survival in a remote Russian underworld.

While travelling through a region rife with reminders of Russia’s dark history, kind-hearted truck driver Georgy (Viktor Nemets) turns onto a dirt road to bypass a car crash – and to heed a warning that his original route is haunted. As a motley crew of lost souls and vagabonds cross his path – an elderly hitchhiker, a frighteningly young prostitute, a couple of not-so-stoic soldiers – My Joy’s startling narrative moves into increasingly bizarre territory.

Loznitsa draws from a pool of provincial anecdotes he collected over thirteen years of documentary filmmaking (another quality he shares with Resnais, who also began as a documentarian), conjuring an unsettling vision of small-time Russia. However, it is not this director’s mischievous script that packs the greatest punch; it is his flair for the unexpected, his willingness to take the story in unconventional directions. This is buoyed by his ability to tie numerous narrative strands together, while always leaving them just a little, tantalizingly, loose.

Renowned cinematographer Oleg Mutu (who also shot the Festival favourites The Death of Mister Lazarescu and 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) works with a grimly beautiful palette of black and blue. Don’t let the title fool you. My Joy is a dark descent into a world where thieves abound and impunity reigns.

Dimitri Eipides

director bio

Sergei Loznitsa was born in Baranovitchi,Belarus and later moved to Kiev, Ukraine.After earning a degree in engineering and mathematics at the Kiev PolytechnicInstitute, he studied at the Russian State Institute of Cinematography inMoscow (VGIK), where he graduated with a major in film production anddirection. He has since made several short and feature-length documentaries,including Factory (04), Blockade (05), Artel (06), Sweet Sixties(08) and Revue (08). My Joy (10) is his narrative featuredebut.

full credits

Principal Cast: Viktor Nemets, Vlad Ivanov, Maria Varsami, Vladimir Golovin, Olga Shuvalova, Alexey Vertkov, Yuriy Sviridenko
Producer: Heino Deckert, Oleg Kokhan
Executive Producer: Olena Yershova, Od Howell
Cinematographer: Oleg Mutu
Editor: Danielius Kokanauskis
Sound: Vladimir Golovnitski
Production Designer: Kirill Shuvalov
   
International Sales Agent: Fortissimo Films
Production Company: ma.ja.de.
.
Shopping Cart
 

    Share This

    • Digg
    • Share

    Like This

    film stills and media

     
    Pause Slideshow