The Second Circle

A man gets word that his father has died and comes to a distant place. He has to see to the funeral alone: papers, a coffin, washing, carrying, burial. Nobody helps, nothing is easy, and every step wants money and permission. In the middle of all that he does not even get the chance to grieve. Aleksandr Sokurov's film uses almost no dialogue and keeps the light low throughout. The telling shows not a death but how a society deals with death; everything has been reduced to procedure. The film asks patience of the viewer and gives no easy feeling in return. It is one of Sokurov's early works and sets the tone of the films that came after.