Mr. Landsbergis

SHOWCASE SCREENING

Dir. Sergei Loznitsa. Lithuania/Netherlands/Ukraine. 2021, 246 mins. In Lithuanian and Russian with English subtitles. DCP. The latest documentary from the indefatigable Loznitsa is a masterwork of archival storytelling, grippingly and exhaustively detailing the Lithuanian fight for nationhood during the crucial years of 1989–1991, threaded together by interviews with the first Head of the Lithuanian Parliament, the now 89-year-old Vytautas Landsbergis. Rather than overly summarize history for the sake of economy, or play fast and loose with context (as another filmmaker might), Loznitsa orients the viewer within major moments in the establishment of the Lithuanian state—and the inverse dissolution of the Soviet one—with astonishing deftness and drama. So thoroughly are these events sourced that we’re given multiple angles on unchoreographed, often chaotic events such as citizen uprisings and military incursions. Even considering the director’s formidable work in the genre, this is a landmark achievement in archival filmmaking.  New York premiere

Tickets: $15 / $11 senior and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / free for MoMI members ($11 Classic members). Order online. Please pick up tickets at the admission desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission. Review safety protocols before your visit.