Cinema is a vehicle for investigating historical scars in “Isaac,” a starkly beautiful drama about a filmmaker who returns to his native Lithuania in 1964 to make a movie about a WWII slaughter, and becomes embroiled alongside his schoolmate in totalitarian trouble. Adapted from a short story by Antanas Skema, director Jurgis Matulevicius’ feature debut — Lithuania’s entry to the Oscar international feature race — is Its obliqueness may preclude it from attracting a wide domestic audience, but such haziness is part and parcel of a work about the lingering, lethal fog of war.
“Isaac” opens with the 1941 Lietukis garage massacre of 40 Lithuanian Jews at the hands of Nazis and their local mob-like collaborators. Shot in sumptuous black and white (as is two-thirds of the ensuing film), and with the sort of roving, wobbly, serpentine camerawork favored throughout by Matulevicius and talented cinematographer Narvydas Naujalis, this scene evokes the grimy brutality of “Son of Saul,...
“Isaac” opens with the 1941 Lietukis garage massacre of 40 Lithuanian Jews at the hands of Nazis and their local mob-like collaborators. Shot in sumptuous black and white (as is two-thirds of the ensuing film), and with the sort of roving, wobbly, serpentine camerawork favored throughout by Matulevicius and talented cinematographer Narvydas Naujalis, this scene evokes the grimy brutality of “Son of Saul,...
- 11/23/2021
- by Nick Schager
- Variety Film + TV
Hidden Treasure: Jonynas Stages Greek Tragedy against Backdrop of Eastern Europe
A student of Krzysztof Zanussi, Lithuanian director Ignas Jonynas infuses his third feature film with a tragedy of high style, filling it with frenzied passion, a cold-blooded premeditation and unsolvable philosophical questions. Invisible is a drama with a love triangle at its centre, and builds to a payoff that will surprise even the most sophisticated of viewers.
Jonas (Dainius Kazlauskas) is a middle-aged man living with his blind taxidermist uncle in an remote village. As a dancer, he dreams of being noticed and appreciated but faces countless refusals , until he realizes that a physical disability could give him the edge in the eyes of TV producers and viewers.…...
A student of Krzysztof Zanussi, Lithuanian director Ignas Jonynas infuses his third feature film with a tragedy of high style, filling it with frenzied passion, a cold-blooded premeditation and unsolvable philosophical questions. Invisible is a drama with a love triangle at its centre, and builds to a payoff that will surprise even the most sophisticated of viewers.
Jonas (Dainius Kazlauskas) is a middle-aged man living with his blind taxidermist uncle in an remote village. As a dancer, he dreams of being noticed and appreciated but faces countless refusals , until he realizes that a physical disability could give him the edge in the eyes of TV producers and viewers.…...
- 10/17/2019
- by Svetlana Semenchuk
- IONCINEMA.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.