No Love No Death

Accidentally, Alyona finds herself alone in her lover's country-house on Christmas Eve. All she can see from the window is a snow-covered desert, and a cat is the only living creature who is near. The heating is turned off, her mobile phone battery is low. Alyona tries to get out of the country-house, but the more external circumstances she overcomes the deeper she sinks into her inner hell. At the end of the day her desire to escape suddenly evolves into desire to die. There are three layers in the film: physical, symbolical and metaphysical. All Alyona's activity is a surface that hides her struggle with her inner demons, her existential solitude and her inability to cope with it. Trying to escape the swamp of unsolved issues Alyona sinks only deeper and deeper to reach the bottom, then push off and start her way to inner resurrection. The only thing we are never given enough is love. The only thing we never give enough is love.

Directed by Gleb Ross, No Love No Death leans on a strong ensemble — Natali Starynkevich, Kirill Safonov, Andrey Rodionov — 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 drama titles of 2018.