Euphoria

A story of the spontaneous passion and tragic outcome of a love affair between a man and a woman, set in the parched, infinite Steppe, cut through by the majestic current of the river Don. The beautiful and inhospitable natural environment appears to anticipate the situation and destiny of the lovers, who are unable to cope with the suddenness and strength of their feelings. The young married woman cannot see a way out of her solitude, and the young man is aware of nothing except his enchantment and extreme longing. The lovers become prisoners of their own subconscious instinct, they do not know how to ennoble it through warmth, how to nurture their relationship. Nor do they acknowledge the intervention of a third, the woman's husband who, instead of remaining calm, is driven to elemental brutality. The film, regarded in Russia as the most daring film of the year, is intriguing for its unusual visual and musical images depicting an almost Classical type of tragedy. The celebrated stage director does not respect ordinary film approaches or established genre conventions but, in a highly inventive way, he stamps his own hallmark on the magical language of film. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)