Beautiful, interesting, incredible cinema.
In the late-1990s squalid town of Nalchik, a poor young Jewish couple is kidnapped and a grievous ransom is demanded, as bitter resentments and cruel dilemmas come to light, magnifying the small community’s grave predicament.
This powerhouse debut by Kantemir Balagov, a student of master Aleksandr Sokurov, delves into the fraught relationships of the small Jewish community inside the Caucasian city of Nalchik. Darya Zhovner’s performance as a young woman seeking freedom from a confining world is fierce and unforgettable.
In the late-1990s squalid town of Nalchik, a poor young Jewish couple is kidnapped and a grievous ransom is demanded, as bitter resentments and cruel dilemmas come to light, magnifying the small community’s grave predicament.