Francofonia

“Sophisticated, complex, and thoroughly absorbing.”—Guardian

Alexander Sokurov returns to the territory of his beloved 2002 masterpiece Russian Ark with his latest, Francofonia, set in 1940s Paris. Where before he considered the nexus of art and history via Saint Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum, here he focuses on two real-life individuals—Jacques Jaujard and Count Franz Wolff-Metternich—who collaborated to hide the Louvre’s treasures before the German invasion. Offering a sumptuous portrait of another renowned museum, Francofonia examines the value of culture and life and the moments when we choose which is more important. (87 mins., DCP)