My Joy
Sergei Loznitsa | Ukraine | 2010
127 min
My Joy is a hypnotic yet challenging film that presents us with a bleak look at life in Russia. On the surface, it is the story of Georgy, a truck driving deliveryman who stumbles across every imaginable form of viciousness when he takes a quick detour to avoid a long roadside queue while on the other it is a dark tale of cyclic violence that has its roots in the past.
The films initial setup would have you believe you are in for a road trip film, given how Georgy first meets a traffic policeman at a checkpoint, a prostitute at the blocked roadside queue and a bunch of vagabonds who try to steal from him. The films structure however is largely experimental. Midway during the film, at a key turning point in the narrative, there is a flashback (the second of two) to the life of one of the vagabonds that explains his condition but also serves to drive the films agenda forward. These violent flashbacks are introduced, just likes some of the many characters, without warning, which sometimes leads to a disoriented viewing experience. Even when we return to the main character, it takes a while to realize that he’s now grown a beard and perhaps doesn’t remember everything. All of this is likely as much a part of the films intended affect as it is to accentuate the point about how the atrocities and cruelty inflicted upon people during World War two have somehow remained with them and is therefore why they continue to be committed even today in different forms.
The films director, Sergei Loznitsa, makes good use of the services of cinematographer Oleg Mutu, whose work on ground breaking Romanian films such as 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days and The Death of Mister Lazarescu helped turn a new leaf in that countries cinema. The splendid visuals have both a documentary like look and an air of fascinating mystery. The scene where Georgy first comes into contact with the townsfolk consists of a wonderful tracking shot that focuses on the everyday faces of the peasant workers from the point of view of Georgy as he walks amongst them. Difficult though the film may be to watch, it is nonetheless richly rewarding for the resolute viewer.
