4

Ilya Khrzhanovsky

IndieLisboa 2005 •

Russia, Fiction, 2004, 126′

Why do people strive to clone other people, if another sister can’t substitute a dead sister, even if they are twins that look absolutely alike? Why does a woman have to lie about working in advertising when in reality she is selling her body? Why does a man tell servant-rumors about the president’s family and lie about working in the president’s administration, although he is really a businessman? Where is the border between life and death, and how high is man allowed to raise the curtain to look over to the other side? Is not science, in fact a form of contemporary magic? A deserted village out in the middle of Russia and an all-night bar in a big city. Episodes of life in Moscow and in the country. Because of their absurdity, these episodes are as much realistic as they are unimaginable. However, a closer examination reveals that these two worlds – are but clones of each other, only they duplicate reverse reflections, like positive and negative film.