Loznitsa's Imperium explores Soviet history
Sergei Loznitsa's film Imperium continues his examination of Soviet Russia's history and its aftermath, using archival footage from the early 1970s that was originally filmed by an Italian TV documentary crew. Loznitsa discovered the footage during an archival film festival in Rome and saw its relevance to his themes about Russia's control of historical truth.Setting the scene with 1973 Moscow
The film opens with a parade in Red Square in 1973, commemorating the October Revolution, with banners celebrating exceeded production targets. It then shifts to show Moscow's life with unexpected glamour, including window displays of luxury goods and ornate fur coats, alongside a Christmas market that hints at the uncertain status of religion under state atheism.Traversing the USSR's diverse landscapes
Across its three-hour runtime, Imperium moves from Moscow to the rural decay of Suzdal, where an old woman is seen washing clothes by boring a hole in the ice. It continues north-east to Siberia, depicting derelict factories and the uneasy integration between Russian workers and the indigenous Sakha people. Visual transitions, such as a red flag and the sound of a bell, shift the viewer to Uzbekistan and Georgia, where Islamic prayer rituals and an Orthodox wedding are shown.Mixed effectiveness of archival material
Not all the archival footage is equally compelling, and the reliance on everyday scenes in various town squares risks becoming banal. There is less elaboration on the social circumstances and fewer ironic contrasts to propaganda efforts, particularly compared to sequences set in Moscow and Leningrad. One notable passage is a synchronized dance in a Tallinn recording studio, overlaid with an Estonian version of the pop song "Stumblin’ In," also featured in Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza.International production and distribution
Imperium is a co-production involving Germany, France, Italy, and Lithuania, with production companies including Essential Filmproduktion Gmbh and Société Parisienne de Production. Its international sales are managed by Coproduction Office, indicating its global reach and distribution strategy.
