The Trial

With this chilling found-footage documentary, Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa continues his urgent investigations into the twisted logic of totalitarianism. THE TRIAL was born of an extraordinary archival find: an extensive film record of an early Stalinist show trial, a 1930 court proceeding in which defendants—“enemies of the state” tried on fabricated charges of colluding with foreign governments to undermine Soviet industry—faced death for crimes they did not commit. As restored and reconstructed by Loznitsa, what plays out is a window into the cruel theater of state terror that carries disturbing contemporary resonance.