Beanpole

Beanpole

Dylda
Directed by Kantemir Balagov
Russia | 2019 | Narrative
130 minutes | Russian

Director Kantemir Balagov, who’s a precocious 28 years old, follows “Closeness,” his lauded 2017 debut, with “Beanpole,” a powerful period drama. By 1945, World War II has devastated Leningrad, demolishing its buildings and leaving its citizens in tatters, both physically and mentally. Although the Nazis’ siege of the city — one of the worst in history — is finally over, life and death continue their battle in the wreckage that remains. Two young women, Iya and Masha, search for meaning and hope in the struggle to rebuild their lives among the ruins. “Beanpole” earned Balagov the Best Director Award and his second FIPRESCI critics’ prize in the Un Certain Regard section of this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Calling the film “a brutal and achingly beautiful drama about post-war trauma, Indiewire writes: “Extraordinary performances and ‘Roma’-level production design elevate a brutal yet tender story of two women in post-war Leningrad.”