The Chained One

Colour, 35mm
Russia, 2002, 90 min
Section: East of the West

Synopsis

Former officer Pavel, sickened by disorderly social conditions, chooses a solitary existence in a small house on the Baltic shore. He owns a truck and makes a living transporting goods. One day he rents a room out to the young violinist Anna but he is unaware that this is the daughter of the woman he had passionately loved before he left to fight in Angola and Afghanistan. Anna’s presence disturbs him, he doesn’t know how to respond to her obvious interest in him. He feels that perhaps she could replace the love he lost and one day he cannot control himself. Anna, however, disappears during the night and leaves him a letter of explanation and an address. Pavel sets off for Belarus, he seeks out Anna’s mother and begs her for forgiveness. He finds out that Anna had sought refuge with him before her planned hospitalisation – she is suffering from leukemia. This psychological story closes with Pavel’s monologue. He ties himself to the gates of a church and, in an open confession, begs God to save Anna, to punish him or give him strength to overcome his despair in order that he may find redemption from his wrongdoing.

About the director

Valery Rybarev (b. 1943, Saratov) graduated in television direction from the Leningrad Institute of Theatre, Music and Film in 1976, but as early as 1959 he was co-operating with Belarusfilm. Between 1973 and 1977 he shot a total of five documentaries and then started in on features. In 1982 he made Chuzhaja Votchina, followed by the made-for-TV film Witness. The 1988 movie My Name Is Arlekino set Rybarev on the road to renown. After a bit of a break he came out with The Voice of Your Brother’s Blood (1994), and his latest project, The Chained One (2002), will have its world premiere at this year’s Karlovy Vary IFF.