MOSCOW -- Moscow International Film Festival organizers said Wednesday that they have come under pressure from the authorities in neighboring Belarus to pull a film deemed offensive to World War II veterans from competition at Russia's leading international film showcase. Mysterium Occupation already has been banned in Belarus, where its debunking of popular notions of wartime heroism by anti-fascist partisans has not played well. Told through three interwoven stories, Andrei Kudinenko's debut film depicts partisans -- revered in postwar Soviet state histories -- as just as bad, if not worse, than the Nazi forces they fought. A Belarussian woman whose young son is killed during fighting transfers her maternal feelings to a wounded German soldier, and a young partisan recruit is forced to rob, steal and rape to avenge a partisan deserter.
- 6/24/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
MOSCOW -- Moscow film festival organizers said Wednesday that they have come under pressure from the authorities in neighboring Belarus to pull a film deemed offensive to WWII veterans from competition at Russia's leading international film showcase. The film -- "Mysterium Occupation" -- has already been banned in Belarus where its debunking of popular notions of war time heroism by anti-fascist partisans has not played well. Told through three interwoven stories, 31 year-old Andrei Kudinenko's debut film depicts partisans -- revered in post-war Soviet state histories -- as bad, if not worse than the Nazi forces they fight. A Belarussian woman whose young son is killed during fighting transfers her maternal feelings to a wounded German soldier and a young partisan recruit is forced to rob, steal and rape to revenge a partisan deserter. Fest organizers confirmed that the Ministry of Culture in Belarus has asked for the film to be pulled from its new competition section, Perspectives, which highlights the work of young directors.
- 6/23/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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