Sergelden

Sergelden was made in an entirely different style and form than the films that Aprymov had made previously. The director made use of the associations of the actors and his own dreams and fantasies. A young stage director is preparing a new play, inspired by Dostoevsky’s story ‘The Meek’. All events in the film are a free translation of this short story and of the destiny of protagonist Jerken. This Jerken kills his girlfriend and then tries to reconstruct events leading up to this. He explains to the detective that he lives in three realities: in his dreams, in his theatre shows and in his life on earth. And that he no longer makes any distinction between these three. Sergelden has the same theme as The Last Stop, although now the film does not focus on the disintegration of society, but of one individual. The character Jerken believes that outside reality is no more than a projection of the inner world. If that is so, then why shouldn’t he play with reality? But his play eventually leads to a tragedy, because he kills someone and ends up in a mental institution. A dream in a head has created a monster. The circle is complete, there is no way out. Behind the external appearance of Jerken is hidden a void: no love, no friendship, no desire to create anything. His only aim is to flee into other worlds, into another dimension that broadens people’s lives.