WHERE ARE WE HEADED

Escalators, darkness, neon light, tunnels, rattling trains and then: magnificent domes and waiting areas, social-realist sculptures. The film's rhythm is shaped by the commuters' paths into and through the underground world. The faces of the people riding down the endless escalators are tired. They shuffle their way through rush hour, the subway trains of Moscow's Metro system are full. The war against Ukraine hasn't begun yet: mothers press their children into the cars. Alas, there are also other days: Russian New Year, when Putin's address is displayed ubiquitously on screens, and "Victory Day", which is also celebrated in the subway. Here, goods are sold (illegally), songs are sung and arrests are made too, for the police is omnipresent. The subway seems to be more than a mere means of transportation. Due to their beauty, equal to that of palatial foyers or the lobbies of self-respecting banks in other climes, Moscow's subway stations are also known colloquially as "underground palaces". Director Ruslan Fedotov observes passengers over the course of a year, virtually unnoticed, as they discuss, flirt and argue, giving rise to surprising, humorous, beautiful and alarming images that get very close to their subjects.