On February 13, the online cinema Okko premiered the series 'Outsource' with Ivan Yankovsky in the lead role. We tell you why it will definitely be talked about in the near future

'Outsource' is a project by showrunner and screenwriter Anna Kozlova, as well as the creative duo of director Dushan Gligorov and cinematographer Batyr Morgachyov, who have been working together for over a decade. Their portfolio (in collaboration with the production company 'Sreda') already includes: last year's Okko hit 'The Road' (from which not everyone has recovered yet), one of the best KION series 'Crystal' and the excellent multi-episode drama 'Chimera' released on 'Ivi'. The track record already looks quite impressive, and now the portfolio has been supplemented with a new potential headliner for Okko (and they say lightning doesn't strike the same place twice).

What's the Plot?

1996. Kamchatka. The city of Yelizovo. The death penalty has not yet been abolished. A new employee, Kostya Volkov (Ivan Yankovsky), is transferred to a local special-purpose prison housing death row inmates. The prison warden (Vitaliy Kovalenko) introduces him to the colleagues gathered in the office — prosecutor Andrey (Dmitry Sumin) and guards Sasha (Eldar Kalimulin) and Roma (Danil Steklov). Each of them is clearly not thrilled with their job. 

While Andrey goes to lunch at his parents' home, where he lives with his wife dissatisfied with the family's income, his colleagues give Kostya a tour. They introduce the newcomer to the maniac prisoners, whom they don't call by name and don't pity even when they scream in pain (and why would they?). However, Konstantin shows humanity and insists on taking one of the inmates to Pyotr (Leonid Telezhinsky) — the local doctor, as lazy and tired as all the residents of this godforsaken town.

After his first shift, Kostya walks home with Sanya. He tells him that he and his fiancée Natasha (Mila Ershova) are getting married soon and invites his colleague to the event. Right during the celebration, the guys are called over by a man who offers them five hundred dollars for the opportunity to personally execute the criminal who once killed his daughter. At that moment, Volkov comes up with a bloodthirsty and somewhat brilliant business plan. What if the death penalty, for a certain fee, is outsourced to the victims' relatives? That way, it seems profitable, and some semblance of justice will prevail. Kostya voices the idea to his colleagues, and everyone, not without hesitation but due to personal reasons, unanimously agrees to participate in the implementation of the plan. 

In the Center of a Colorless Urban Landscape

'Outsource' was first shown at the online cinema festival 'New Season', where the project received the award 'Most Anticipated Series of the Year'. Frankly, the title is well-deserved, because at the premiere at the 'Oktyabr' cinema, there was a full house and some had to sit on the steps. And most importantly, it was worth the wait, as the show evokes a storm of emotions and leaves you alone with serious thoughts. While watching, many film associations come to mind: from 'Sympathy for Lady Vengeance' and 'Mindhunter' to Balabanov's films and recent ones — the creators managed to skillfully package all this into one project.

Evgeny Belousov

He Who Has Not Fled from the Locals Will Not Understand: Review of the Series 'The Boy's Word. Blood on the Asphalt' (2023)

On December 21, 2023, the final episode of perhaps the most popular series of the past year, 'The Boy's Word. Blood on the Asphalt', was released on the START and Wink platforms. Now that the viewing

Open material

The series cannot be called a light evening story, but nevertheless, half a season flies by in one sitting (journalists managed to watch four episodes and can't wait to see the continuation). Filming took place not only in Moscow but also in the Caucasus Mineral Waters region and Elbrus area, as well as in Kamchatka, where the series' events actually take place. Majestic and beautiful natural landscapes (the opening credits are a separate art form) come into conflict with the chthonic gray buildings of the poor hinterland. 

The characters are essentially trapped in a confined space, and this applies not only to the death row inmates in their cells. The small town on a peninsula, surrounded on almost all sides by the ocean, seems cut off from the outside world as well. In addition, the series is shot in a 4:3 format, which matches both the size of a prison window and the TV screens of that era. So, through the window of their black mirror, viewers spy on people trying to cling to opportunities in the closed space of life during difficult times for the country. 

It creates the impression that time in these snowy lands has frozen for thirty years and the past has accidentally survived to the present day. On screen, the nineties have passed the midpoint, but everything looks so topical that it becomes unsettling. 'Outsource' cannot be called a reflection on the traumatic and clichéd era in domestic cinema. This is a film about the present day; about a country stuck in hard times; about people who are waiting for everything to get better, for the region to flourish, and for conditions for a happy life to appear. The only difference is the still-practiced death penalty, which has been abolished in modern Russia. Although, against the backdrop of regular talk about reinstating the death penalty, this line also remains relevant.

In Still Waters

One of the main advantages of the series is the script by Anna Kozlova. The impeccably constructed dramaturgy and lively dialogues can be praised endlessly. All these kitchen conversations are painfully familiar to everyone: arguments about how good life was in the Soviet Union and how free the country became after its collapse; moralizing that a woman should hold on to a man and be afraid of being left alone with a child; rumors about a luxurious life where we are not, be it Moscow or abroad (which are often not very different); reflections on unloved work for pennies and searching for side income opportunities. The chances of seeing your own family gathering in this are extremely high.

The screenwriter masterfully strings secondary storylines onto the main plot with the bloody business plan, creating a complex cinematic mechanism. Each character has a clearly calibrated motivation to engage in outsourcing. 

Prosecutor Andrey lives with his parents and his liberated young wife (Karina Alexandrova), who reads 'AIDS-Info' and wants a beautiful life. She hysterically demands that her principled and honest husband go for any means of earning money to move out of the small apartment and 'live normally'. Otherwise, the girl threatens to leave her husband.

Guard Sasha has just spent money on a wedding, before which a terrible event occurred: his fiancée Natasha was raped by a bandit after her bachelorette party. The groom decided to take revenge and got into an unpleasant situation, from which Yankovsky's character helped him get out. But this favor might turn out to be a disservice. 

Prison doctor Pyotr hates his job and suffers from sex addiction. Promiscuous sexual relations are an extremely dangerous activity in the context of STDs rampant in the country. Unsurprisingly, with such a lifestyle, the need to find money for expensive treatment suddenly arises. 

Unlike the others, guard Roma does not have a sufficiently weighty motive to get involved in outsourcing. But he lives with his grumpy mother (she is an Aries, if that explains anything) and suddenly falls in love with a married woman, so money will clearly not be superfluous. Moreover, herd mentality has not been canceled.

As for the instigator of the whole enterprise, Kostya Volkov is a rather vague personality. We know practically nothing about him, except that he was transferred to the prison from the town of Kimry. At home with his wife Nina (Dasha Kotreleva), he behaves coldly and strictly (as if he doesn't have warm feelings at all), but he definitely loves his daughter. His judgments and views on life are unusual, and his boundaries of justice are extremely blurred. At first, he seems to show humanity towards one of the maniacs by insisting on taking him to the doctor, but a little later he cold-bloodedly executes another in the shower room. 

Kostya proposes to engage in outsourcing supposedly so that at least a bit of justice prevails in this world, but he only considers the fattest offers. He doesn't leave a comrade in trouble, but his methods of solving problems are, to put it mildly, not ideal. When he needs something, he is ready to put on a blissful smile and pretend to be a good-natured Ivanushka the Fool, but when something goes against his plans and arguments, restrained fury freezes on his stone face, which clearly bodes no good.

Actor Yankovsky did a tremendous job to bring this complex character to the screen. Such roles are only within the power of truly great artists, and Ivan has been proving for the last five years that he undoubtedly is one. In general, the casting is a true decoration of the series. Just look at the wonderful Mila Ershova and the amazing Eldar Kalimulin. Even though Yankovsky solos in this work, he is backed by people no less talented than himself.

What's the Verdict?

Competent production, impeccable script, star cast, excellent direction, and superb cinematography make 'Outsource' if not the most, then one of the main series of the just-started year. The project exposes a multitude of bleeding wounds in our society: from the HIV epidemic and domestic violence to reflections on the price of human life. I would very much like to say that the series is an incredible embodiment of a long-gone era, but this film is more relevant than ever, and that is the most frightening thing.

Of course, drawing final conclusions based on half a season is premature (as practice shows, a lot depends on the ending). But at this point, the creative team definitely deserves all the favorable reviews from viewers and critics (we hope the second half of the season was not outsourced). It is certainly gratifying that the domestic series industry is rapidly developing and regularly treats us to high-quality multi-episode projects, even if sometimes as dark as this one.