The Assistant

Pavel is an amiable loser, teaching at a film institute. He sells out his family apartment and accommodates his mother in a residence for elderly people to start filming his first picture. The bank, however, he deposits his money in, goes bankrupt and he can't afford to pay back the mob the loan taken to buy negative film stock. As for his family, the relations have for a long time turned into series of stupid and ridiculous misunderstandings. His wife cuckolds him, all his attempts to tale up with his son fail. The friendship with a neighbor boy ends in a classic knockout. A dubious partnership with an old colleague from the movie guild ends in a total fiasco before the Mafia. The only place Pavel feels comfortable is the student's cinema hall where old picture are screened. He often fancies himself a film character. Pavel starts behaving as such and gradually loses any sense of reality. When grasping that reality has rules of its own, it is already too late.

Directed by —, The Assistant leans on a strong ensemble — Vasil Vasilev-Zueka, Ivan Ivanov — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about screen titles of 2002.