East of the West 2002 / Upast´vverch / Russia 2002
A psychological salon drama from the Moscow nouveau-riche environment. The heroine, married to a man with a shady past, takes a cynical view of her position. Her life changes when she encounters a man intent on avenging her husband’s betrayal. While out on the terrace of her luxury flat she ponders the futility of her wasteful existence and her surroundings and opts for a way out: “falling up”.
Set within the convention of a psychological salon drama, this film offers a look into the world of the Moscow nouveau riche. Its heroine is the pampered independent wife of a man whose wealth and position are rooted in a shady past. The wife, accompanied by various different chauffeurs, whiles away her time in beauty salons and boutiques, she visits an astrologist, gazes at male striptease artists with her fashionable girlfriends and organises parties. Her husband supposedly leaves town and she is left alone in their luxury flat with its view onto the church of the Holy Saviour. An attractive man arrives to repair the fireplace, stirring feelings in the bored woman. She has no idea that he has come to avenge the husband’s trickery and betrayal. The latter, however, is observing what is going on in the flat through a telescope he has set up in a nearby house. He has moved in with his wife’s friend, a former lover, who has staged the whole event. She tells him that his wife’s flirtation has developed into a passionate affair. A dramatic encounter between the two men ensues. The woman out on the terrace, disgusted by the events which led to the conflict, and by herself, chooses a liberating solution: “falling up”.
90 min / Black & white, 35 mm
Director Sergei Ginsburg, Alexander Strizhenov
/ Screenplay Sergej Ginsburg/Sergei Ginsburg, Alexander Striženov/Alexander Strizhenov
/ Dir. of Photography Slava Lazarev
/ Music Vladimir Davydenko
/ Editor Natalija Kučerenko/Natalia Kucherenko , Irina Kruglova
/ Producer Sergej Ginsburg/Sergei Ginzburg, Alexander Striženov/Alexander Strizhenov
/ Production Cinemagic, Mosfilm
/ Cast Jevgenija Krukova/Evgenia Krukova, Alexander Feklistov, Jevgenij Sidichin/Evgeny Sidihin, Marina Jakovleva/Marina Yakovleva
Alexander Strizhenov (b. 1969) is the son of the famous actor Oleg Strizhenov. After graduating from the drama faculty of MCHAT, he accepted an engagement at the “Satirikon” theatre; he has also appeared in a number of other Moscow theatres and in over thirty films. Since 1994 he has been working as a writer and host for morning broadcasts on ORT national television. The film To Fall Up (Upast verkh, 2002) is his debut as a director and producer. Sergei Ginsburg (b. 1961) graduated from the drama faculty of the State Institute of Performing Arts (GITIS) and worked for a number of Moscow theatres; he then established himself as a director and artistic producer for the Russian independent television channel ATV. He has made several documentaries, including films about Eddi Rozner and Bulat Okudzhava. He was awarded the national TEFI television prize. Falling Up (Upast verkh, 2002) is his debut.
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