- My Joy
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My Joy 
Directed by Serhiy Loznytsya Produced by Oleh Kokhan Written by Serhiy Loznytsya Cinematography Oleg Mutu Editing by Danielius Kokanauskis Release date(s) 19 May 2010 (Cannes) Running time 127 minutes Country Ukraine Language Russian Budget € 1.5 million My Joy (Russian: Счастье моё, translit. Schastye moyo; Ukrainian: Щастя моє, translit. Shchastya moye) is a 2010 Ukrainian road movie directed by Sergei Loznitsa. It is set in the western regions of Russia, somewhere near to Smolensk. My Joy was the first Ukrainian film ever to compete for the Palme d'Or.
Contents
Cast
- Viktor Nemets as Georgy
- Olga Shuvalova as teenage prostitute
- Vlad Ivanov as Major from Moscow
- Dmitri Gotsdiner as train station Superintendent
Production
The film was a co-production between Germany's Ma.ja.de, Ukraine's Sota Cinema Group and the Netherlands' Lemming Film.[1] The film was shot in Ukraine as a condition for receiving money from the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture, but most of the 1.5 million Euro budget came from Germany. According to the director there are about 140 cuts in the whole film. Vlad Ivanov's Russian was dubbed as he is a Romanian actor.[2]
Reviews
There was a considerable outcry in Russian media over the film's purported Russophobic slant. Film director Karen Shakhnazarov claimed that Loznitsa would like everyone living in Russia to be shot.[3] Another Russian film director, Andrey Zvyagintsev, called My Joy the best Russian-language film of the decade.[4]
Among American reviewers, Manohla Dargis (The New York Times) referred to the movie as "suspenseful, mysterious, at times bitterly funny, consistently moving and filled with images of a Russia haunted both by ghosts and the living dead".[5] A blurb in Sight & Sound advertises My Joy as "Ukraine’s answer to Deliverance".[6] Village Voice (Michael Atkinson) reviewed My Joy as "a maddening vision and one of the year's must-see provocations.[7]
Awards and nominations
The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival in May.[1] At the 7th Yerevan Golden Apricot International Film Festival in July, the film won the Silver Apricot Special Prize.[8]
References
- ^ a b "Schastye Moe (My Joy)". festival-cannes.com. Cannes Film Festival. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/11023106/year/2010.html. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
- ^ Galetski, Kirill (2010-05-17). "Q&A: Sergei Loznitsa". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film-festival/cannes/news/e3i7278144fcfbad6f7550bbcdea938181e. Retrieved 2010-05-17.[dead link]
- ^ "Счастье мое, я твой хаос". gazeta.ru. http://www.gazeta.ru/culture/2011/03/29/a_3568857.shtml. Retrieved 2011-11-09.
- ^ "Кино по пятницам, эфир 10 декабря". moskva.fm. http://www.moskva.fm/stations/FM_91.6/programs/кино_по_пятницам/2010-12-10_18:05. Retrieved 2011-11-09.
- ^ "A Tale of Russia Haunted by Ghosts and the Living Dead". NY Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/2011/09/30/movies/my-joy-directed-by-sergei-loznitsa-review.html. Retrieved 2011-11-09.
- ^ "Sight & Sound: July 2010". sightandsound. http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/issue/201007. Retrieved 2011-11-09.
- ^ "A Trucker's Bizarre Drive, Chaos at Every Turn, in My Joy". villagevoice.com. http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-09-28/film/a-trucker-s-bizarre-drive-chaos-at-every-turn-in-my-joy/. Retrieved 2011-11-09.
- ^ "Golden Apricot International Film Festival". gaiff.am. http://www.gaiff.am/en/winners//year/2010.html. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
External links
- My Joy at the Internet Movie Database
Categories:- 2010 films
- Ukrainian films
- Russian-language films
- 2010s drama films
- Films shot in Ukraine
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