Arrhythmia

Oleg is a passionate paramedic, yet away from the ambulance his life is a failure. His wife Katya is fed up with his alcoholism and decides to divorce him. Alongside the pressure from his marital crisis, Oleg also abhors the commercialisation of the welfare state. The hospital's new director demands that they finish every job inside 20 minutes, irrespective of its severity. "Stop giving a shit" is what he wants from his staff according to Oleg. While the latter resists the changes, he fixates on Katya. At work he is a sympathetic moralist; at home he is a time bomb who is ruining his wife’s life. He does so unthinkingly, as by not moving with the times he puts everything on the line.

Filmmaker Boris Khlebnikov provides a heartfelt portrait of love and incompatibility, and in so doing reflects on the social turmoils of modern-day Russia. A superbly acted drama, Arrhythmia won the top prizes at the Open Russian Film Festival Kinotavr.