Close-Up, in collaboration with Pushkin House, are delighted to present a film programme dedicated to the acclaimed Soviet and Russian filmmaker Alexander Sokurov. This special series of events features the UK premiere of his most recent work, Fairytale, and offers the opportunity to explore the major facets of his cinematic universe.

Alexander Sokurov's films are known for their meditative pacing, rich visual language, and exploration of existential themes. Often compared to his mentor, Andrei Tarkovsky, Sokurov has developed a rich tradition of spiritual and philosophical inquiry in cinema, creating a substantial body of work that delves into history, memory, love, war, and the human condition. His talent has been expressed in both fiction and documentary forms, earning him numerous prizes, including the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

Returning to the subject of power and its abuse throughout his career, Sokurov himself has been confronted with his subject matter on more than one occasion. His very first feature film, The Lonely Voice of Man (1978), based on Andrei Platonov's writings, was condemned to destruction by Soviet authorities. Miraculously saved, it was only released nine years later during Perestroika. His most recent work, Fairytale (2022), which explores the afterlives of the major dictators of the 20th century, also faced censorship in contemporary Russia, and Sokurov himself was restricted from teaching in his filmmaking lab. Despite these challenges, he remains an unwavering artist, true to the path of art.

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Mother and Son
Alexander Sokurov, 1997, 67 min

In this film, Alexander Sokurov depicts the deeply intimate bond between a mother and her son, based on an overwhelming, almost mystical love that transcends the ordinary. Set in a timeless, isolated world, it captures their quiet, shared existence as they confront the inevitability of separation through death. Sokurov’s poetic visuals and meditative pace highlight the profound connection between humanity and nature, offering a reflection on love, loss, and the fragile beauty of life. Mother and Son earned Alexander Sokurov international success and recognition thanks to the film's stunning, painterly cinematography and its deeply tender approach to the mother-son relationship.

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Moloch
Alexander Sokurov, 1999, 108 min

Set in a remote mountaintop retreat, Moloch portrays a single day in the life of Adolf Hitler and his inner circle, including Eva Braun, Joseph Goebbels, and other key figures of the Nazi regime. Isolated from the outside world in the grand yet claustrophobic Kehlsteinhaus building, the characters engage in mundane conversations and absurd rituals, revealing the futility underlying their existence. This is the first film in Sokurov's renowned tetralogy which explores the corrupting effects of power. Drawing on Erich Fromm, the filmmaker believes that to truly understand the nature of Nazism, one must dare to see Hitler as a living person. By portraying historical figures with emotional and psychological complexity, Sokurov reveals that power is not an abstract force but one deeply rooted in personal and psychological realms.

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Taurus
Alexander Sokurov, 2001, 104 min

Taurus, the second film in Alexander Sokurov's tetralogy of power, delves into the final days of Vladimir Lenin, exploring the vulnerability of the man behind a political process of historic proportions. Set in Soviet Russia during the early 1920s, it follows the details of the life of the revolutionary leader, his family and servants caring for him during his illness, along with visits from guests, including Joseph Stalin. The narrative gradually reveals the disintegration of Lenin’s will as his physical and intellectual capacities fade, with a tragicomic effect. Sokurov continues to examine the destructive impact of power by focusing on the purely human and ordinary traits of those who wield it. In the face of illness, we watch the historical figure become merely a man, powerless to change anything – not only the fate of the country slipping beyond his control, but also the fate of his doomed family.

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The Sun
Alexander Sokurov, 2005, 110 min

The third and penultimate instalment in Alexander Sokurov's tetralogy about personality and power, following Moloch and Taurus, delves into the fate of Japanese Emperor Hirohito at the end of World War II. In 1945, with Japan facing defeat, Hirohito made the unprecedented decision to renounce the divine origin of the emperor – a descendant of the Sun Goddess – shattering centuries of tradition. His actions ignited a wave of ritual suicides across Japan. The film also portrays General Douglas MacArthur, commander of the Allied forces, as he grapples with the monumental decision of determining the fate of the captured Hirohito and the entire imperial dynasty during the occupation of Japan. Sokurov continues to use his work as a humanises a historical figure, often seen solely through the prism of his political role. “I don’t make films about dictators, but I make films about those people who stand out more than the rest. They happened to possess ultimate power. But human frailty and passion influence their actions more than status or circumstance. Human qualities and character are higher and stronger than any historical situation.” – AS

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Fairytale
Alexander Sokurov, 2022, 78 min

Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, and Churchill find themselves in Purgatory. Resurrected from the dead through animated archival footage, Sokurov employs his signature cinematic style to craft a phantasmagoric scene where four of the most infamous leaders of twentieth-century European history, alongside Christ and a cameo appearance by Napoleon, wander aimlessly, muttering in their native languages. Often, they talk past one another, focused primarily on themselves and their personal regrets. Stripped of their grandeur and historical context, Sokurov implies that these figures were largely reliant on the adoration of their audiences to wield the immense power that led to millions of deaths. Their trivial concerns in purgatory underscore the banality of evil. This fictional story, though entirely made up, continues some of the reflections Sokurov explored in his tetralogy on power, particularly questioning the role of the individual in history and the responsibility of political leaders to their citizens, making the film a relevant statement for our time. The Russian Ministry of Culture banned festival screenings and distribution of the film, which was soon followed by an informal ban on screening of all his previous works.

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For the full programme details visit: https://www.pushkinhouse.org/pages/the_lonely_voice_of_man