On September 30, the debut film "Nobody's" by Lena Lanskikh hits the screens, having won the "New Directors" nomination at the San Sebastian Film Festival. Does this film deserve it, and is it worth trying to watch it on the big screen?

Synopsis

Fourteen-year-old Vika (Anastasia Strukova) recently gave birth to a child. Now the harassed girl, forced to hide her daughter from doctors and many relatives, is on the verge of a breakdown.

A local guy Andrey (Ivan Ivashov), whom Vika really likes, is about to leave their small town, which Vika sees as a chance to escape the constant stream of humiliation from everyone around, from family to school teachers. But can you do that with a newborn in your arms when you are still a child yourself?

"Chernukha" as It Is

The film "Nobody's" is incredibly heavy. It is physically hard to watch. The semi-rural setting on the edge of a swampy forest, gray dull days, a sense of hopelessness and despair – all this leads to the fact that for the first forty minutes you try to at least adapt to the tone of the film.

The film has gathered all possible scenarios that can traumatize the psyche. At the same time, "Nobody's" is a film without a plot. We see sketches from life, we watch Vika talk to those around her, we realize that something has been wrong with her for a long time – and it's no wonder.

Such films have long been called "chernukha" by the people. Films that show life in the Russian hinterland without embellishment, demonstrate all the horror of a fourteen-year-old girl having to take on the burden of responsibility for a little person. And all she wants is to dance in the local club and hang out with a cute guy.

Lanskikh does not hesitate to insert short scenes here and there that throw the viewer off balance. For example, shots that at first seem related to sex or violence, but then deceive the expectations of the already nervous viewer. Or scenes with the nudity of a fourteen-year-old teenager (Strukova is so convincing in her role that I had to go online to make sure she is actually twenty years old).

Positive Aspects of the Film "Nobody's"

Is it bad that "Nobody's" is so chernukha? Does that make it a bad film? No, such films have their audience – I can assume that it is mostly a very small layer of genre lovers, or people who have everything so bad in life that they just need to watch others suffer to improve their well-being.

At the same time, the work behind the camera is done at a very high level. The direction is beyond praise, the work with the actors is thorough, the actors themselves try hard. I especially want to highlight the already mentioned lead actress and the surprisingly poignant performance of Olga Malakhova as Vika's mother. Also, cinematographer Mikhail Veitsenfeld initially scared me a bit because the camera shook quite a lot at the beginning, but that didn't last long, and then the picture became more pleasing.

A Film That Drives You into Depression

Films about troubled teenagers have always been in fashion. We often have to watch on screen how these teenagers became troubled. Plus, the problems of young mothers from provincial towns, which would break any adult, certainly need to be highlighted.

But will this help a real schoolgirl who has to change diapers and pump milk every day while her rapist continues to play video games in front of her? Will this film make her life easier? Will "Nobody's" attract enough eyes so that someone wants to change something in this broken system?

At the same time, the level of awfulness happening on screen frankly presses on the viewer. And every time "Nobody's" surprises by finding ways to increase the degree of this awfulness to incredible proportions. Showing everyday scenes, in general. Letting you listen to ordinary conversations, in general. Demonstrating common behavior, in general. Why do you want to hang yourself so much?

Conclusion

Don't get me wrong, we are not trying to dissuade you from going to the cinema, but forewarned is forearmed. So that an impressionable movie lover does not find themselves in a situation where they want to get up and go out into the corridor to suppress the urge to burst into tears, they must know what they are getting into.

If you are into old films by Valeriya Gai-Germanika and the like, then you are welcome. Lena Lanskikh has done a very high-quality job.

But is it for everyone?