Aritmija
Directed by:
Boris KhlebnikovCinematography:
Alisher KhamidkhodzhaevCast:
Aleksandr Yatsenko, Irina Gorbacheva, Nikolay Shrayber, Анна Уколова, Анна Котова-Дерябина, Владимир Капустин, Maksim Lagashkin, Aleksandr Samoylenko (more)Plots(1)
Oleg is heading for his thirties. He works as a paramedic and, after a hard shift, he likes to take a few swigs. His wife Katya is also a doctor, working in the hospital's emergency department. But her patience with Oleg is running thin, so she announces one day that she wants a divorce... One of the most intriguing filmmakers on the Russian scene today, Boris Khlebnikov returns to the big screen with a meticulous piece of direction. Along with precise performances from the cast, the film examines a relationship experiencing an arrhythmia similar to that affecting the hearts of the patients Oleg treats in his job as a paramedic. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)
(more)Reviews (3)
Arrhythmia gives viewers a glimpse of the harsh everyday reality of a young doctor who spends his days riding in an
ambulance and saving people, and his nights saving his relationship – usually in the Russian way with a shot of vodka in
his hand. The emotions and chemistry of the relationship are well portrayed, as are the hardships the doctor faces when
trying to do his job in the face of bureaucratic obstacles. The slight suggestions of humor do not do much to alleviate the
crushing hopelessness of the film. [Karlovy Vary IFF]
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52nd KVIFF – A very decent depiction of pure Russian human suffering amid a block of flats in an unnamed Russian city. Oleg works as a doctor in an ambulance. Katya is a doctor in a hospital. Both of them work for people and they are both completely exhausted from people. Katya would like a more decent life but Oleg drinks like a fish. In the first scene, he convinced me that thanks to his love for alcohol he would drink all bottles of vodka in pubs, nonstop shops, restaurants, and bars Mladá Boleslav has to offer in two hours. On the other hand, I envied him terribly, because he was able to drink liters of vodka and leave in the morning to save people as if nothing ever happened. I drink seven beers on a weekday night and then, in the morning, I have to fight my blanket to let me go to work. Nevertheless, Arrhythmia wasn’t only about the local Russian soul, it was also pretty funny. It kept poking fun at Oleg, which wasn’t entirely funny, but it also indiscriminately teased hypochondriac people, which was funny… very funny.
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This is more so a superficial relationship study in which the daily suffering of doctors dealing with hypochondriacs, complicated acute cases, the unrealistic demands of new leadership, and hysterically distorted complaints of dissatisfied "clients" are shown more than the central couple's relationship problems. There are no big emotions or twists. Yet the plot flows smoothly and at a decent pace and the theme is interesting and touches on many remarkable questions, topics and motifs. However, only a few of them are resolved in the end.
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