The latest drama by Sergei Loznitsa, a master documentarian known for chronicling modern history, was screened in the Competition section at the Cannes Film Festival. The film is adapted from a novella by physicist Georgy Demidov, who suffered under Soviet communist rule. It tells the story of a young prosecutor determined to uncover corruption and pursue justice during Stalin’s Great Purge. Despite the complex web operating beneath the surface, the film has a simple structure: the first half takes place over several hours in a prison, and the second half follows a business trip to Moscow. While a critical gaze underlies the film, its focus is less on accusation and more on witnessing. The gray-toned walls, doors, and hallways exude the scent of surveillance, torture, and fear, etched into the viewer’s every cell. Once you understand what kind of era you are living in, asking what should be done becomes a natural next step. The real challenge lies in how one accepts the truth of failure when personal beliefs are shattered and revolutions are corrupted. This is a chilling, stripped-down work that removes all traces of the black humor present in Loznitsa’s earlier fiction film Donbass (2018). (LEE Yong Cheol)