Mysterium Occupation

Since Elim Klimov, who died in 2003, stopped directing films after his stunning Come and See (1986), few unusual films have emerged from Belarus. Mysterium Occupation is a positive sign of independent cinematographic life from this part of the world. Mysterium Occupation is made up of three novellas that are interwoven and blend in tone and mood. During the Second World War, the Belarus rural population had a difficult time under the terror and occupation of the Nazis, but also under the partisans instructed by Moscow, largely comprising unruly bandits. In the end, the Belarussians primarily made life difficult for each other. Mysterium Occupation interweaves three dramatic stories: there are the vicissitudes of a deaf and dumb woman who, after losing her little boy, expresses her maternal feelings on a wounded Nazi soldier; a boy who thinks his long lost father was the murderer of his mother and stepfather; and of a young recruit who is forced by an older partisan (obviously with a criminal past) to rob, rape and take out his revenge on a partisan deserter. Andrei Kudinenko and his enthusiastic crew provided a gripping picture of the drama. The lack of facilities is compensated by an expressive, moving camera and the modern soundtrack.