Isaac (film)

Isaac (Lithuanian: Izaokas) is the first feature film by Lithuanian director Jurgis Matulevičius. It is the first feature film that deals with the participation of Lithuanians in the killing of Jews during the Holocaust.[1] The drama is based on the last novel of the same name by Antanas Škėma before his death in 1961.[2] It was selected as the Lithuanian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards.[3][4]

Premise

Isaac is drama about a Lithuanian activist haunted by the guilt of killing a Jew in the Lietūkis garage massacre in June 1941.[5]

Production

Antanas Škėma wrote the novel in 1960–1961, but it attracted little attention. It was first published in a volume of his collected works in 1985. It was republished as a separate work in 2018.[2]

The film was made in Lithuania by the Film Jam production company. The filming took place in Vilnius, Kaunas, and Klaipėda and lasted about two and a half years.[2]

Its world premiere happened in November 2019 at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.[6] In 2020, it was nominated for the Discovery prize at the European Film Awards.[7]

In 2020, it was shown at the Glasgow Film Festival, at the Riviera International Film Festival and at Eastern European Film Festival Cottbus (Germany).[8][9][10] In October 2020, Isaac was also named second best film and Matulevičius was selected best second best director at the 19th Imagineindia International Film Festival in Spain.[11]

Critical response

Lithuanian National Radio and Television said that the film was "the most surprising" at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival and praised the film for its anti-war message.[12]

Stephen Dalton writing for the Hollywood Reporter noted that such a confident and sophisticated work deserved a wider audience beyond the usual niche demographic for subtitled art house fare".[13]

See also

References
  1. Smolienė, Agnė (July 17, 2017). "Filmas "Izaokas" atvers diskusiją apie tamsiąją istorijos pusę" [The film "Isaac" will open a discussion about the dark side of history]. Diena (in Lithuanian). Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  2. Ožalas, Audrius (December 1, 2018). "D.Kuolys apie A.Škėmos "Izaoką": tai kūrinys, nenusileidžiantis "Baltai drobulei"" [D. Kuoys about A.Škėma's "Isaac": it is a work that is on pair with the "White Shroud"] (in Lithuanian). 15min.lt. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  3. "Oscars International Race 2021: Complete List of Entries". The Wrap. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  4. "Lithuania picks Holocaust film as its second entry to vie for Oscars". LRT. 10 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  5. Blaney, Martin (April 3, 2018). ""Winter Brothers" triumphs at Vilnius Film Festival". Screen Daily. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  6. "Latest Lithuanian films and projects to compete in Tallinn". The Baltic Times. November 15, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  7. "Six Debut Films Nominated" (Press release). Berlin: European Film Awards. October 8, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  8. Jamieson, Teddy (March 1, 2020). "10 films to catch at the Glasgow Film Festival". The Herald (Glasgow). Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  9. "Claudia Gerini ospite d'eccezione del Riviera International Film Festival 2020" [Claudia Gerini special guest of the Riviera International Film Festival 2020] (in Italian). Sky TG24. August 24, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  10. Müller, Bernd (December 9, 2020). "Alte Schlachten, neue Narrative" [Old battles, new narratives]. Junge Welt (in German). Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  11. ""Castle of Dreams" star Hamed Behdad honored at Imagineindia festival". Tehran Times. October 10, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  12. ""Lietūkio" skerdynes menantis Jurgio Matulevičiaus "Izaokas" plėšia tvarstį nuo tautos žaizdos" [Izaokas, reminiscent of the "Lietūkis" massacre, rips a bandage from the wound] (in Lithuanian). Lithuanian National Radio and Television. December 4, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  13. Dalton, Stephen (November 12, 2019). ""Isaac": Film Review". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
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