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Germany, Ukraine, Netherlands · 2010
2h 7m
Director Sergey Loznitsa
Starring Olga Shuvalova, Vlad Ivanov, Vladimir Golovin, Alexey Vertkov
Genre Drama
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Georgy is driving a load of freight into Russia when, after an unpleasant encounter with the police at a border crossing, he finds himself giving a lift to a strange old man with disturbing stories about his younger days in the Army. After next picking up a young woman who works as a prostitute and is wary of the territory, Georgy finds himself lost, and despite asking some homeless men for help, he’s less sure than he was before of how to make his way back where he belongs.
Although discomfiting to audiences desiring a steady narrative thread (and less accessible to those unfamiliar with Eastern European history and culture), it sustains interest throughout as a devastating critique of Russian society.
Slant Magazine by Aaron Cutler
Sergei Loznitsa's documentaries are mainly compilations of archival footage, so it makes sense that his first fiction film is also essentially a compilation, an array of dynamic, aggressive bits rather than one coherent text.
My Joy has a bleak, grotesque, near-perfect poetry in its soul.
Deeply sorrowful and drenched in ambiguity, My Joy adopts a patient rhythm that departs from reality while studying it in depth.
The film's sociopolitical critique is as dull as a sledgehammer - and maybe on the money - but the truth is far more entertaining.
The New York Times by Manohla Dargis
The world of My Joy is grim, though the experience of watching it and piecing together its fragmented story strands is anything but. It's suspenseful, mysterious, at times bitterly funny, consistently moving and filled with images of a Russia haunted both by ghosts and the living dead.
Village Voice by Michael Atkinson
My Joy is a maddening vision and one of the year's must-see provocations.
Those schooled in Eastern European history may have better luck deciphering it, but what keeps it compelling throughout is Loznitsa's direction, which favors sophisticated long takes and particularly suspenseful use of foreground and background action. His next film should be a doozy.
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