Review: My Joy (Schastye Moye)

The desolation of the Russian countryside is a place of inexplicable beauty, and according to director Sergei Loznitsa, its vastness creates an inescapable abyss of treachery and mystery as seen in the impeccably good My Joy.

Lacking a truly linear plot, My Joy encompasses seven vignettes of various tales from the rural Russian area. These include Russian soldiers returning home from the second World War, a truck driver delivering a load of flour, more Russian soldiers hauling a dead comrade, and a mysterious mute. These characters are not necessarily united, but do serve to represent the underworld of Russian society as Loznitsa advocates the true motives which drive and inspire people. These bizarre sequences are bookended by a twisted police checkpoint where upholding the law is secondary to any opportunity of personal gain.

As My Joy is a longer feature many will find it trying, especially given the structure of the narrative. Any sense of boredom however is circumvented by means of gorgeous cinematography, which can quickly shift from capturing a busy village market square to a desolate road and three tramps. What Loznitsa accomplishes is a perfect harmony of story and vision where neither has to attain perfection in every single frame as long as one shines. Also refreshing about this film is the disregard for tying up any narrative pieces that remained unanswered, instead favouring shock and quick 180 degree shifts which put audiences on point for the duration of the film.

While it is a lesson in patience, Loznitsa’s film lives up to the hype that it earned earlier this year at Cannes. The naysayers are sure to be loud about the sheer level of boredom that they feel My Joy induces, but much like the highways of rural Russia – one is never sure what they will find when the road runs out.

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