PARADISE

As a collaborator, Jules co-ordinates interrogations and torture from his position behind his desk. One day the Russian aristocrat Olga, an active member of the résistance, sits before him in the opulent rooms of his office. The two reach an unambiguous deal, but, alas, it doesn’t last long. Jules ends up facedown in an anthill, as Olga is shipped off to the East. In the concentration camp where she lands, SS Colonel Helmut, who adores Chekhov and speaks fluent Russian, recognizes her and resolves to rekindle their past acquaintanceship under new auspices. In well-composed black and white images, Andrei Konchalovsky dissects the “paradise of the supermen” and pursues a post-mortem dialogue with his characters. An unusual, incredibly well acted, eerie film.