Astenicheskiy sindrom (1990)

In the old days it was called hypochrondria, or black melancholia. Now, apparently, it's termed the Asthenic Syndrome. Whatever it is, Nikolai, a teacher of epicly indifferent pupils, has ... See full summary »

Director:

Kira Muratova

Writers:

Aleksandr Chernykh, Kira Muratova,

Stars:

Olga Antonova, Sergei Popov, Galina Zakhurdayeva

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Olga Antonova	...	Natasha
Sergei Popov	...	Nikolai
Galina Zakhurdayeva	...	Masha (Blonde)
Natalya Buzko	...	Masha (Brunette)
Aleksandra Svenskaya	...	Teacher
Pavel Polishchuk	...	Iunikov
Natalya Ralleva	...	Mother
Galina Kasperovich	...	Nikolai's Wife
Viktor Aristov	...	School Principal
Nikolai Semyonov	...	Head Doctor
Oleg Shkolnik
Vera Storozheva
Aleksandr Chernykh
Leonid Kushnir
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sergey Gavrishkiv	...	(as S. Gavrishkiv)

Storyline

In the old days it was called hypochrondria, or black melancholia. Now, apparently, it's termed the Asthenic Syndrome. Whatever it is, Nikolai, a teacher of epicly indifferent pupils, has got it, and it's not much fun. Worse yet, quite a few other people, even an entire society, seem to be afflicted with the same problem writ extremely large...

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Plot Keywords:

teacher | glasnost | title directed by female | film within a film

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Release Date:

1 February 1991 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

The Weakness Syndrome

Company Credits

Production Co:

Goskino, Odessa Film Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

153 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

a hard-core Mike Leigh's Naked

Russian Mike Leigh's Naked, even more straight-in-the-face, even more disturbing and more poetic though painfully honest.

Truly full-blooded cinema, although astonishing in its hyperrealism and - if I may - psychological gore.

Also, probably the only film made by woman which cannot be referred to as a "film made by woman".

Highly recommended for M.Leigh's fans, plus - for some reason it feels logical - viewers interested in WongKarWai, MikeFiggis, maybe Jon Jost. However, I have to admit - whereas being close in its impact to WKW's Happy Together, it's not as romantic as Chungking Express/FallenAngels, hardly as nostalgic as Days of Being Wild and definitely different in many ways being compared to nearly anything either Figgis or Jost have ever done. ;-)