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Two Prosecutors
2025 film by Sergei Loznitsa From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Two Prosecutors is a 2025 historical drama film written and directed by Sergei Loznitsa, based on the novella of the same name by Georgy Demidov. Starring Aleksandr Kuznetsov and Aleksandr Filippenko, the film follows a young Soviet prosecutor seeking justice for a prisoner during Joseph Stalin's ongoing Great Purge.
The film had its world premiere in the main competition of the 78th Cannes Film Festival on 14 May 2025, where it won the François Chalais Prize. It will be theatrically released by Progress in Germany on 19 February 2026.
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Premise
In 1937, amid Joseph Stalin's Great Purge, a young Soviet prosecutor comes across a letter written by a prisoner in Bryansk. Believing the man to be the victim of NKVD corruption, the prosecutor seeks out justice with the Procurator General.[1]
Cast
- Aleksandr Kuznetsov as Kornyev
- Aleksandr Filippenko as Stepniak / Pegleg
- Anatoliy Beliy as Andrey Vyshinsky
- Andris Keišs
- Vytautas Kaniušonis
- Valentin Novopolskij
- Dmitrij Denisiuk
Production
Principal photography took place in Riga.[2][3][4] The production team shot in a former prison that was built in 1905.[5] Filming wrapped on 25 October 2024.[6]
Release
Coproduction Office acquired the sales rights to the film in February 2025.[2] The film will be distributed by Pyramide in France and Progress in Germany. Ahead of its premiere, the film was also acquired for distribution by Lucky Red in Italy; Aerofilms in the Czech Republic and Slovakia; Vertigo Media in Hungary; HBO Europe in eastern Europe; Filmstop in Estonia; MegaCom Film in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia; Lev in Israel; and Falcon Films in the Middle East.[7]
The film had its world premiere in competition at the 78th Cannes Film Festival on 14 May 2025.[8][9] Following its premiere, it was acquired by Wanda Visión and Filmin for Spain; Edge Entertainment for the Nordics and Iceland; Aurora Films for Poland; Filmtrade for Greece; Bir Film for Turkey; Sharmill Films for Australia and New Zealand; Longride for Japan; Andrews Film for Taiwan; Edko Films for Hong Kong; Impact for India; Falcon Pictures for Indonesia; Retrato Filmes for Brazil; and Zeta Films for Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay.[10] It will receive a theatrical release in Germany on 19 February 2026.
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Reception
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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 94% of 32 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.5/10.[11] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 85 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[12]
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film a rating of five stars out of five, calling it "starkly austere and gripping ".[13] Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Impeccably directed and impressively acted, this slow-burn story of political injustice is filled to the brim with atmosphere — specifically the stifling, claustrophobic atmosphere of the U.S.S.R. at the height of Stalin’s Great Purge."[14] Jessica Kiang of Variety wrote, "[T]his is not the kind of movie that hinges on abrupt reveals or gratuitous twists. Indeed, the banal predictability of Kornyev's slowly mounting humiliations and disillusionments is very much the point. The film's fascination lies in its fabric, the devastation in its detail...." She praised Oleg Mutu's cinematography, Christiaan Verbeek's score, and Jurij Grigorovič and Aldis Meinerts's production design.[15] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film a rating of five stars out of five, calling it "a disturbing parable of the insidious micro-processes of tyranny".[16] Damon Wise of Deadline noted that the film was "a bleak warning from history" and commended the film's set design and relevance to current events.[17]
Accolades
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References
External links
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