Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.5

In the Fog Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 18, 2013

Winner of FIPRESCI Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Sergei Loznitsa's "V tumane" a.k.a "In the Fog" (2012) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors New Wave Films. The supplemental features on the disc include an original theatrical trailer and Sergei Loznitsa's short film "Pismo" a.k.a "Letter". In Russian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

It is time...

The Belarusian countryside, 1942. German forces are everywhere. Most local men have chosen not to confront the invaders. But there are also those who have decided to make their lives as miserable as possible. They hide in zemlyankas high up in the mountains and occasionally attack the Germans and their lackeys.

Four railroad workers are arrested in a tiny village. Three of them are then hanged and their bodies left to rot in the middle of the village. The fourth man, Sushenya (Vladimir Svirskiy, The Meeting), is sent home. Soon after, two partisans come knocking on his door.

Burov (Vladislav Abashin, Skolzhenie), the taller of the two, is Sushenya’s childhood best friend. They haven’t seen each other in years and Sushenya can hardly recognize him now. He offers Burov a glass of vodka but he refuses to drink with him. Both men know why. When Sushenya’s wife appears, he urges her to take good care of their son and then calmly follows Burov back to the nearby forest. There he begins digging his own grave.

After Sushenya stops digging, the film takes an unusual turn. Three big flashbacks then link past events to the present and the viewer is forced to reevaluate the main characters. In each of these flashbacks, morality is the major theme.

The film’s key observations are about the nature of heroism and idealism. The former is constantly redefined after the public execution in the beginning, while the latter’s ugliness is exposed in two of the flashbacks. The words of Nadezhda Markina, who plays Burov’s elderly mother, are especially powerful, though in the context in which they are delivered admittedly also too weak to change her son’s mind.

Some could be tempted to compare this film to Elem Klimov’s epic Come and See, but its tone and atmosphere actually remind of Alexander Sokurov’s early work. The important role nature has, the frequent long close-ups, and especially the sense of inevitability that permeates the film create the type of bleak yet unusually poetic atmosphere that is so prominent in many of Sokurov’s films.

Svirskiy is extraordinary as Sushenya. Some of the very best sequences in the entire film are the ones where he simply looks straight into the camera. Abashin is also very impressive as the cold-hearted partisan. Markina, a phenomenal actress, also leaves a lasting impression despite the fact that her time in front of the camera is limited.

The film was lensed by cinematographer Oleg Mutu, who also collaborated with Loznitsa on his previous film, My Joy. (Mutu also lensed acclaimed Romanian director Cristian Mungiu’s excellent new film Beyond the Hills).

Note: In the Fog is based on the novel The Ordeal by Vasili Bykov. Another excellent film based on a novel by the great Belarusian writer is Larisa Shepitko’s The Ascent. (In the United States, the film is currently available on DVD courtesy of The Criterion Collection).

In the Fog Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Sergei Loznitsa's In the Fog arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors New Wave Films.

The high-definition transfer is the best I have seen from New Wave Films to date. Detail and clarity are simply superb, even during the nighttime footage (see screencapture #19). If there is plenty of light, image depth is outstanding. Contrast levels remain stable from start to finish. Colors are very well saturated, always stable and natural. Compression is excellent. Blown through a digital projector, the film always looks tight around the edges and sharpness never suffers. For the record, there are absolutely no transition issues whatsoever. All in all, In the Fog looks simply beautiful on Blu-ray. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

In the Fog Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Russian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Russian LPCM 2.0. For the record, New Wave Films have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The film does not have a prominent soundtrack. Naturally, in terms of dynamic movement and balance the difference between the two lossless tracks is marginal at best. There are a couple of sequences where there are slightly better enhanced nature sounds on the 5.1 track, but the difference is indeed very small. Still, the 5.1 track feels like the more appropriate track to experience the film with. The dialog is always crisp, stable, and very easy to follow. The English translation is excellent.

In the Fog Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for In the Fog. In Russian, with imposed English subtitles. (2 min, 1080p).

• Pismo - Pismo a.k.a Letter is a short film about a mental asylum deep inside the Ukrainian countryside where time seems to have stopped. Sergei Loznitsa directed Pismo in 2013. Without dialog. Black and white. (21 min).

In the Fog Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I have nothing but praise for Sergei Loznitsa's latest film, In the Fog, and British distributors New Wave Films' Blu-ray release. The film and the technical presentation are simply fantastic. Do not miss this release, folks. I would like to mention that on September 23 New Wave Films will also release a 3DVD set with three early documentary films directed by Mr. Loznitsa. See here. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.