England!

In this film, England is a utopian island that will never be reached. In his youth, in Sebastopol on the Black Sea, Valeri dreamed with his friend Victor of making the great journey. Not to the New World, of which most emigrants dream, but of heading for Old England. Valeri and Victor remain friends for life, but after they have both been forced to offer emergency aid at Chernobyl as soldiers, they lose track of each other. One last sign of life comes from Victor in Berlin. When Valeri hears from his doctor that he is incurably ill as a result of his espossure to nuclear radiation, he decides to look for Victor to realise their old dream together. In Berlin, Valeri is increasingly ill as he roams immigrant districts where there is also a surfeit of unrealised dreams. It takes a long time before Valeri wants to admit it, but in the end he has to recognise that Victor has already died of the same ailment. They waited too long before making the journey to the land of Thomas Moore. A new friend, a Russian painter who has moved into Victor’s flat, finally helps him to make his last journey across the water. The moving final scene is set on the beach at Calais. Débutant Von Borries made a sensitive and topical film about the dreams of emigrants. (GjZ)