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.
Film details
Productieland
Russia
Jaar
2017
Festivaleditie
IFFR 2018
Lengte
117'
Medium/Formaat
DCP
Taal
Russian
Première status
None
Director
Boris Khlebnikov
Screenplay
Boris Khlebnikov, Natalya Meshchaninova
Cinematography
Alisher Khamidkhodzhaev
Producer
Ruben Dishdishyan, Sergey Selyanov, Natalia Drozd
Sales / World rights holder
Indie Sales
Editing
Ivan Lebedev, Yulia Batalova
Production design
Olga Khlebnokova
Sound design
Janne Laine
Principal cast
Alexander Yatsenko, Irina Gorbacheva, Nikolay Shraiber, Sergey Nasedkin