Winter Journey

Inspired by Schubert’s tragic vocal cycle “Winterreise,” this provocative film charts the tempestuous attraction between two young lonely men who could not be more different: a talented opera student at the Moscow Conservatory who is fragile and vulnerable, and a ferociously aggressive street thug. The intelligent script doesn’t hasten the two into a relationship, instead favoring the strange, poetic and unsettling moments before their first intimate contact. It comes as no surprise that Russian officials sabotaged the film’s release—this powerful and touching drama was turned down by local film showcases and was barely cleared for a limited domestic run.