Alexei Uchitel's "The Stroll" is a true ode to St. Petersburg and the generation of the 2000s. Why, 22 years later, is the film more relevant than many new premieres? We tell you about the cult film in honor of its re-release in theaters starting Jul...

In 2003, Alexei Uchitel let three people wander through the streets of St. Petersburg under the watchful eye of a movie camera. More than two decades later, we still follow them with bated breath and fondly remember falling in love with the film "The Stroll" (and the city on the Neva). And if you've forgotten what that stroll was like, don't worry—the film's re-release will refresh those emotions in your memory.

What the film "The Stroll" is about

We are presented with a ninety-minute marathon in the company of three temperamental people on the streets of pre-anniversary St. Petersburg. The young trio—Olya (Irina Pegova), Alyosha (Pavel Barshak), and Petya (Evgeny Tsyganov)—manages to go from acquaintance to real drama in just a couple of kilometers, accompanied by the sound of Neva waves and the cheers of Zenit fans. At first glance, it's all a chance meeting, summer romance, nothing more, but the city and the characters follow a much more complex script.

Camera, action, St. Petersburg

"The Stroll" is an amazing film, as if shot on the run. The camera relentlessly follows the characters, random passersby have no idea they're in a movie, and the city shows itself without filters. The pulse of St. Petersburg's streets here matches the heartbeat of the viewer, who wants only one thing: for the stroll to never end. The chatter about life and love cleverly masks a duel of personalities, where every line has a hidden meaning. But this "hidden meaning" isn't about boredom—on the contrary, it feels like a revelation, something that hasn't appeared on screen in a long time.

Visually, St. Petersburg in the film is so vivid and real that, looking from 2025, it's impossible not to be transported to the time before gloss and craft coffee shops. Here, on every corner, there are banners for the city's 300th anniversary, along with construction dust, a rusty fence, and other people's leisure. There's no falseness: you truly walk, feel the summer rain, and the worn-out asphalt. The characters are so alive that they seem like people you might randomly meet. For them, this stroll is serious, and you inevitably become a participant in their lives.

Returning to the film twenty-two years later, it's hard not to notice: the ending still breaks conventions. Some may find coldness and even a cruel prank inside. But that's exactly what places "The Stroll" among the greats: there's just enough sincerity to avoid banality, and enough self-irony to not turn a tragedy out of nothing.

Impact on Russian cinema

"The Stroll" is rightly called the "urban myth" of the 2000s: here you have a new school of on-the-go filming, theater deliberately pushed into the street environment, and previously unseen honesty. The characters became molds of the era, as did the depiction of the city. The film's influence extended not only to the emergence of similar films (years later we argue: "Piter FM" or "The Stroll"—which is the main "St. Petersburg" film?), but also to a manner of relationships without strain, without beauty for beauty's sake. Russian cinema is rarely like this.

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Open material

Does "The Stroll" look old-fashioned in 2025? Rather, it feels fresh—because no one has yet come up with a new way to talk about the most important feelings. Uchitel simultaneously created an "instruction" for surviving a transitional age when dreams collide with reality, and carved a monument to St. Petersburg of the 2000s.

"The Stroll" is that call from the past that, even if you're not expecting it, you don't hang up on. I recommend watching it—for teenagers who never experienced long evenings without smartphones, and for adults, thoroughly tired adults who want to remember their youth, if only for these carefree ninety minutes.