Koniec Rosji

Young Polish documentarist Michał Marczak’s directorial debut, awarded at the Hot Docs festival, takes us to the very edge of northern Russia. There, not far from the icy Arctic Ocean, in a place hundreds of kilometers from the nearest residence, one of the last border stations still operates under the supervision of five veteran soldiers. And Alexei, a 19-year-old recruit, is headed their way. Despite the obvious absurdity of guarding the border, where only a polar bear might accidentally wander across, the soldiers don’t shirk from fulfilling their daily duty. Jittery Alexei is thus not only initiated into his border guard responsibilities but also into the essential rituals necessary for surviving in the snowy wasteland. Beyond the portraits of the individual soldiers and their life together, this visually striking picture probes the “Russian soul,” a concept whose meaning is often difficult to grasp. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)