Два прокурора

In his adaptation of Georgy Demidov's novella of the same name, Sergei Loznitsa tells the story of an idealist who, after receiving a cry for help from a provincial prison, investigates accusations of the arbitrary treatment and mistreatment of a political prisoner. TWO PROSECUTORS describes a system that tolerates no dissent and mercilessly persecutes those who criticise the totalitarian "apparatus," even from within. This involves broad strokes as well as small gestures, such as when subordinates briefly check with their superiors, with anxious, hesitant glances, whether they may laugh at a joke or open a door. Precise description of the intricacies of top-down social structures that rely on a complete and anticipatory obedience. In this system, anyone who behaves "antisocially," as the arrest warrants state, faces a long prison sentence. The experiences of the protagonist of this story, with its linear narrative and impressively nuanced acting, could just as feasibly occur today. At the same time, TWO PROSECUTORS points to the Soviet Union's Stalinist past, one never adequately addressed, and to the fate of the unknown who, within the boundaries of their limited powers, tried and continue to try to change arbitrary systems from within—and are swallowed up by them in the process, without ever entering the history books.

Text: Bernd Buder

Fri 07.11. I 20:30 I WELTSPIEGEL SAAL 2 I original version with English and German subtitles

Sat 08.11. I 18:30 I WELTSPIEGEL GROSSER SAAL I original version with English and German subtitles