DAU. NATASHA

The breadth, ambition and sheer hubris of the Dau project is mind-boggling. Originally conceived as a conventional biopic of Nobel Prize-winning Soviet scientist Lev Landau by director Ilya Khrzhanovskiy, it eventually sprawled to become a round-the-clock immersive drama project that continued for two years in a purpose-built replica Soviet restricted-access scientific institute in the Ukraine. Most of the performers are non-actors, although visitors famous in their own fields of art or science or infamous, in the case of the Russian white supremacist who plays a Nazi or the ex-KGB interrogator who reprises his old job in one of DAU. Natashas most disturbing scenes provide discussions of string theory, experimental weapons and the Talmud. So far, the project has yielded a dozen feature-length films, a TV series and a high-volume debate about its ethics and Khrzhanovskiys supposed cult of personality. DAU. Natasha, which centres on the two women working in The Institutes canteen, certainly runs close to the bone with its unsimulated sex scenes and endless, equally unsimulated drinking sessions. That said, Natalia Berezhnaya a market trader in real life is riveting as her namesake, the poignantly ageing title character, while The Institute is sinister as only real-life tyranny can be. SB

THIS IS NOT A BURIAL, ITS A RESURRECTION

The 40-year-old Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese may be the first significant filmmaker to hail from Lesotho, an enclaved country within the borders of South Africa, or at least the first to make an impact on the international scene. Based in Berlin, he returned home to shoot this experimental feature about an aged widow (Mary Twala Mhlongo) whose son is killed in a mining accident and who then must grapple with a second blow the forced relocation of her mountain village to make way for a proposed dam. How do I account for my distrust of this highly accomplished film? Perhaps its simply that it contains everything a sophisticated festival audience might be looking for: magic realism, anti-capitalist politics, folk spirituality, modern disjunctures, striking landscapes, rich colours, careful sound design, bursts of ethereal or abrasive music, tableau compositions in a square aspect ratio, and a simulation of 16-millimetre film grain which is persuasive at least on the small screen. Mosese knows the score, and if you want to see what todays model of cutting-edge cinema looks like, you could do far worse. JW

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