Directed by Aleksandr Sokurov • 1988 • USSR/Turkmenistan

In the dying days of the Soviet experiment, a young doctor finds himself posted to a remote Turkmen town. Attempting to research the relationship between religious faith and medicine, he finds his efforts confounded by a series of mysterious encounters and ill omens. The great Aleksandr Sokurov (Russian Ark) is at his bleakly beautiful best in this reimagining of the beloved science fiction of the Strugatsky Brothers – authors of the novel behind Tarkovsky’s Stalker. Switching freely between sepia and colour and documentary footage and flights of invention, Sokurov conjures a metaphysical portrait of the end of Soviet empire, imbued with the tragic history of the region and centred around a remarkable lead performance from Alexei Ananishnov.

DAYS OF ECLIPSE • ДНИ ЗАТМЕНИЯ
Directed by Aleksandr Sokurov
Written by Yuri Arabov and Pyotr Kadochnikov
From the novel Definitely Maybe by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky
Cinematography by Sergei Yurizditsky
Music by Yuri Khanin
Starring: Aleksei Ananishnov, Eskender Umarov, Irina Sokolova

In Russian and Turkmen with English subtitles

Winner of the OCIC Award at the Berlin Film Festival 1989