Cerebral Russian SciFi In Alexander Zeldovich's TARGET

The great popularity of author Vladimir Sorokin is as good an example of any of how much Russian culture has changed, and how quickly. An underground writer who began his work in the 1970s, Sorokin's writing has a darkly satiric edge to it - an edge that meant all of his books were banned throughout the Soviet period. Despite being published abroad his work would not be available at home until 1989 and then in 2001 - just twelve years later - Sorokin was awarded for his contributions to Russian literature.

A number of films have been made based on Sorokin's novels in recent years with the most recent being Alexander Zeldovich's Target, a film that premiered quietly in Berlin.

Russia, 2020.
A group of friends set off to the mountains in Asia in search of an abandoned astrophysical secret facility, where space particles were once studied and collected. It is believed that spending some time in its gigantic mirror-aerial could lead to various positive changes in a person, such as the reversal of the aging process, return of youth and all it is associated with - the sharpness of perception, desires and ambitions... The friends find the abandoned site and spend one night inside it. Indeed, on the return to Moscow, they start to feel some changes. They are getting younger, and their dreams start coming true. However, there is a price to pay for this. The protagonists lose control over themselves and their existence, and fast and unexpected changes engulf their lives.

With the Russian release approaching a theatrical trailer has been released and it is unusual stuff, science fiction that is clearly aiming to stay rooted in some sort of plausible future.