In post-WWII Leningrad, two women, Iya and Masha (astonishing newcomers Viktoria Miroshnichenko and Vasilisa Perelygina), intensely bonded after fighting side by side as anti-aircraft gunners, attempt to readjust to a haunted world. As the film begins, Iya, long and slender and towering over everyone—hence the film’s title—works as a nurse in a shell-shocked hospital, presiding over traumatized soldiers. A shocking accident brings them closer and also seals their fates. The 28-year-old Russian director Kantemir Balagov won Un Certain Regard’s Best Director prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for this richly burnished, occasionally harrowing rendering of the persistent scars of war.
QUOTES:
“EXTRAORDINARY PERFROMANCES AND ROMA-LEVEL PRODUCTION DESIGN… A TENDER STORY OF TWO WOMEN IN POST-WAR LENINGRAD”
- David Ehrlich, Indiewire
“DIRECTOR KANTEMIR BALAGOV IS A FIERCELY INDIVIDUAL AND STAGGERINGLY ACCOMPLISHED TALENT”
- Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
“ACHINGLY BEAUTIFUL”
David Ehrlich, Indiewire
AWARDS:
- Cannes Film Festival (2019): Winner FIPRESCI Prize - Best Director
- Golden Eagle Awards, Russia (2020): Winner Best Actress
- Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards (2020): Winner Best Foreign Film
- Online Film Critics Society Awards (2020): Winner Best Non-U.S. Release