On October 26, “Vacation in October” is released, another attempt by Roman Mikhailov to unite dreams and reality on screen.

“Vacation in October” is a new film in the peculiar cinematic universe of Roman Mikhailov, united by the desire to show how tightly dreams are woven into the fabric of our reality or replace that very reality for someone. This time, for greater effect, the director chose the theme of cinema, which seems to naturally invite reflections on dreams and the unreality of what is happening.

Aspiring actress Sveta (Maria Matsel) lives in St. Petersburg and dreams of moving from roles in second-rate cop series to something more substantial. And such a chance comes up – her friend is invited to star in a mysterious Bollywood project. Sveta tags along and also receives an invitation. But once on set, she realizes something is off – no one knows the script, the actors hang out endlessly in the local hotel, and periodically they even participate in a strange game where they recreate scenes from Soviet cinema in reality.

If the first part of the film is more for formality, to emphasize the mundanity of acting (endless auditions, passing roles, feigned emotions without adequate scripts) and prepare the ground for contrasts, then in the second, Mikhailov, backed by the natural charm but still not fully formed image of Maria Matsel (by the way, she and her sister Daria have already played in Mikhailov’s ), breaks away from this reality.

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On a surreal film set reminiscent of episodes from the work of David Lynch (Mikhailov himself dismisses such comparisons), they sing songs to poems by Balmont, and renowned choreographer Vladimir Varnava stages a number in about 15 minutes, where the signature grainy and often out-of-focus cinematography of Alexei Rodionov shows itself in all its glory.

In parallel, the infernal and obligatory Evgeny Tkachuk in the role of a star DJ serves as a guide to another world for the main character, while actors playing the Russian mafia comically, but not without a touch of sadness, discuss the difficult lot of their roles (among them rapper Bledny and another talisman of Mikhailov – Fyodor Lavrov).

The further we descend into this rabbit hole with Matsel’s heroine, the more the boundaries between dreams and reality blur. The director skillfully manipulates the audience’s attention, erudition, and viewing experience with episodes like when Sveta keeps trying to wake up, the lyrics of bollywoodFM songs, or indirect quotations from Soviet cinema, including “Vacation in September,” after which the project is named. After all, as one character says, “cinema hasn’t changed much in the last 40 years.”

Additional eccentricity and mystery to what is happening are added by the images of fog hovering around the hotel and film pavilions, endless patterns literally familiar to domestic viewers over 30, as well as colorful secondary characters from the locals, each appearance of which carries anxiety (and comedy).

Roman Mikhailov left plenty of room for interpretations and readings of both the entire plot and its individual scenes. And if you are not satisfied with the canonical version (it exists, if you carefully watch the final episode with a deliberately prolonged shot of the main character), you can easily come up with your own explanation of the events. Just as the director himself came up with a film where a member of the band 25/17 can play a factory manager in the setting of 70s cinema.

Ultimately, the main thing the creators of the film “Vacation in October” managed to achieve is to spark interest. Delving into all the nuances, trying to understand what the hell is on screen, laughing at not-obviously funny scenes, watching the musical episodes in fascination – you want to do all this, thanks to which you experience a whole range of different emotions while watching. And after leaving the cinema, the film does not let go for a long time, pulling you into its depths, like that very colorful dream in which you want to stay forever.

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