Critic Reviews

• Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader

  Director Sergei Loznitsa often employs dreamy, intricately choreographed long-takes reminiscent of Russian filmmakers Andrei Tarkovsky, Aleksei Guerman, and Aleksandr Sokurov.

• Geoff Andrew, Time Out

  Loznitsa knows that war exists and won't go away; rather than indulging in patriotic or pacifistic platitudes, he tries to show what it might do to our souls. And, in this writer's opinion, he succeeds.

• Stephen Dalton, Hollywood Reporter

  A ponderous trudge at times, it is ultimately worth the journey.

• David Parkinson, Empire Magazine

  Like Come And See in neighbouring Belarus, it's a stark vision of humanity in a hellish world. Tough and thought-provoking.

• Philip French, Observer [UK]

  Sergei Loznitsa's stark parable about Soviet collaboration with the Nazis has echoes of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky.

• Allan Hunter, Daily Express

  Nothing is clear in a film that is as challenging as it is rewarding.

• Derek Malcolm, This is London

  [An] austere but never ponderous film about war, and its effect on those caught up in impossible circumstances ...

• Antonia Quirke, Financial Times

  Though he is more often a documentary maker, In the Fog marks a profound shift for Loznitsa: there is nothing ad hoc or casual here.

• Evrim Ersoy, Electric Sheep

  In The Fog is one of the most impressive films of this year, a brutal tale told in the most languid language imaginable. Unmissable and a terrific step forward for Sergei Loznitsa.

• Vadim Rizov, Little White Lies

  In The Fog finds Loznitsa pinning down an assured narrative groove.

• Jennifer Tate, ViewLondon

  Despite a string of impressive performances, there's little spark to this Russian-language slow burner and as a result, it can be rather dull and effortful to watch at times.

• Tom Dawson, The List

  The performances possess a powerful authenticity, whilst the poignancy of the fog-bound finale lingers in the mind.

• Xan Brooks, Guardian [UK]

  It turns out to be another of those infuriating Cannes near-misses: an iron-clad dreadnought of a picture, impressive in its way but lacking the flash and fire of Loznitsa's previous picture, My Joy.

• Jonathan Romney, Sight and Sound

  Possibly the slowest and most contemplative war film ever made, In the Fog is a delicately complex work of shifting perspectives.

• Scott Tobias, AV Club

  Takes a long, slow, and exceedingly bleak and morose look at the moral choices of three Belorussian soldiers during the German occupation of WWII.

• Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]

  In the Fog is an intense, slow-burning and haunting drama.

• Fionnuala Halligan, Screen International

  A carefully-calebrated three-hander from Sergei Loznitsa, its slow, precise rhythms playing out to compelling effect.

Read all 17 critic reviews