Манга

This is a fractured tale of Kiwi (Iaroslav Zhalnin), a teen thief with a penchant for driving his motorcycle into traffic, playing video games and turning invisible; Alisa (Vasilisa Petina), a young model whose face is splashed all over city billboards and ads, with whom Kiwi grows fixated; and Alik (Khazizov), a metrosexual writer who roller-skates in his cavernous hard-wood-floored apartment and plucks a drunken Alisa after her fateful encounter with Kiwi. Alik, responding to Alisa’s pleas, eventually confronts the pestering Kiwi; a misunderstanding (did he rape her? did he not?) erupts into violence.

Directed by Pyotr Khazizov, Манга leans on a strong ensemble — Vasilisa Petina, Yaroslav Zhalnin, Elena Medvedeva — 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 thriller titles of 2005.