The blockade of Leningrad in the Second World War. No commentary, no music - only the sounds and sights of a dying city. For this documentary, Sergei Loznitsa has used vintage footage from the St. Petersburg municipal archives, some of which has never been seen before. The first scenes, shot in the summer of 1941, show a bustling metropolis preparing to defend itself. Amid the trams and daily life, anti-aircraft guns are being set in position. With the first air raids and the advent of winter, we see the city begin to crumble. Soon, the trams are standing still, the houses are burning, and corpses line the frozen streets. The absence of all commentary or dialogue lends the film a harrowing immediacy.