OBRATNOYE DVIZHENIE

Images from Russia that convey the impression of time having stood still. Tsar Putin, the former KGB agent, ruler of the world's biggest country, the darling of the domestic-media. Reminiscent of science-fiction. It's not however, not for the mother desperately searching for her son who's down there - taboo - you're not supposed to talk about Chechnya. Her body devoured by muted suffering she adopts a young refugee, the suffering is boundless, no help from anyone, just the right to survive the daily torture with dignity. This is how she lives, surrounded by everyday criminals. It's not an easy existence, especially not when her supposedly dead son shows up; a shot of vodka and once again boundless desperation, speechlessness, crime reigns, as if Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Tarkovsky were to no avail. Thus glares a bitterly honest film that allows the colours of caution to light up even brighter. As in Sergey Bodrov's legendary PRISONER OF THE CAUCASUS the focus is on a woman whose silence speaks volumes. Her fury points to century old shortcomings and speaks of a terrible resignation. The corners of her mouth slump south and her eyes send signals that explode in patriarchal prisons. Not to be missed.