Summoned with a blood-written note smuggled out of a prison block, an idealistic Soviet prosecutor (Aleksandr Kuznetsov) pushes past the jail’s leery authorities to interview an elderly, broken-down Bolshevik (Alexander Filippenko) condemned as a political undesirable. The young attorney, determined to expose this miscarriage of justice to the authorities in Moscow, soon finds his efforts stymied as an ever-tightening net of suspicion encircles his investigation. Set at the height of the Great Purge and drenched in the paranoia of Stalin’s police state, the latest triumph from director Sergei Loznitsa is a chilling, Kafkaesque thriller about the impunity of power and the matter-of-fact horrors of totalitarianism.

For in-depth thoughts on Two Prosecutors, please see my colleague Liselotte Vanophem’s review from its original festival debut here.

Video Quality

Two Prosecutors comes to Blu-Ray in an AVC encoded transfer in 1.33:1 courtesy of Criterion Premieres, which provides a sterling presentation that faithfully captures the purposefully suffocating cinematography from Oleg Mutu. This muted palette offers a stable and consistent image quality throughout without any obvious deficiencies. This transfer does not falter with any signs of noise or compression, as the imagery thrives in high definition. Colors are reserved yet deep when it comes to the dreary landscapes, clothing, and production design. Skin tones look natural throughout the runtime with exquisite detail on display. This transfer achieves an ideal visual presentation on Blu-Ray, and Criterion Premieres continues to serve up great modern fare.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray disc comes with a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track in the original Russian and Ukrainian, which holds up every bit as well as the video side of the equation. Dialogue comes through clearly without ever being crowded out by the environmental elements. Activity in the low end is not a particularly notable element in this outing, yet it conjures welcome texture within the world. The sly and playful score from Christiaan Verbeek is showcased faithfully here with a precise use of the surround speakers that retains the utmost fidelity. The exterior soundscape is filled with little nuances that do a fine job of transporting you to this space. The sound design is not overly showy, but it is deftly executed for what it is asked to do. This is a fantastic audio presentation that brings the movie to life very well. Optional English subtitles are provided.

Special Features

The Criterion Premieres Blu-Ray of Two Prosecutors includes a leaflet featuring the essay “Two Prosecutors: No Heroes” by Beatrice Loayza in which she provides some good insight into and analysis of the film that helps highlight the deeper themes on display. The on-disc special features are as follows:

Meet The Filmmakers: A nearly 16-minute conversation with director Sergei Loznitsa in which he discusses his career up to this point, the background of the source material, how the film reflects modern global repression, working with director of photography Oleg Mutu, and much more that you will not want to miss.

Trailer (1:42)

Final Thoughts

Two Prosecutors is a timely and impactful story of oppression and the hopeless feeling of trying to do the right thing when everything is stacked against you. The topic is obviously serious, yet the film has a pitch-black sense of humor at times when it’s dealing with the absurdity of bureaucracy and corruption. This bit of levity allows the gut-punch moments to land with that much more force. The performances are all terrific, as each performer brings a lot of personality to their characters without betraying the solemnity of the situation. The film feels a bit prolonged for what it is trying to accomplish, but it works really well on the whole. Criterion Premieres has released a new Blu-Ray with a first-rate A/V presentation and a welcome interview with the director. Recommended

The Criterion Premieres edition of Two Prosecutors is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Criterion Premieres and The Criterion Collection have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.

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