The Factory

The workers at a factory about to close are not being paid. One of them, Sedoy, who fought in Chechnya, proposes kidnapping the oligarch who owns it. The plan looks simple. But instead of paying, the owner sends his private security team, and within hours the factory building becomes a siege. Yury Bykov writes and directs. Denis Shvedov plays Sedoy. Bykov's own position changes how the film reads. He was known in Russian cinema for work critical of the system, and after the reaction to a television series he made following The Fool he announced he was leaving film altogether. The Factory was the return that followed that decision. It moves like a hostage thriller, but action is not what Bykov is after. None of the workers is a hero, most of them are frightened, some want a deal, and as the violence advances everyone's real intentions surface. What emerges is a picture of how even resistance falls apart when it is unorganised. Who it is for: viewers who want hard films about Russian social tension and class anger. Who it is not for: anyone needing a clear hero or a satisfying resolution. The film withholds both on purpose.