A teenage boy finds religion, causing waves through his school in contemporary Russia. Slightly strident in tone, but unnervingly timely, this slow-burning drama works as a small-scale satire of the rise of extremist rightwing views and religious intolerance. Director Kirill Serebrennikov employs elegantly choreographed, long, unbroken takes to absorbing and sometimes uncomfortable effect, as Veniamin (Pyotr Skvortsov) mounts a concerted assault against his liberally inclined science teacher.
There is a theatricality to the film that can feel a little overbearing at times – it’s hard to sympathise with the grandstanding central character – but this is forceful and provocative film-making.
