Screening of The Asthenic Syndrome (1989), Directed by Kira Muratova
On November 14 at 18:30, Jam Factory Art Center will screen Kira Muratova’s The Asthenic Syndrome as part of “The History of Cinema in Ukraine” programme.
About the Film
A middle-aged woman buries her husband and loses interest in life. Her days, drained of meaning and filled with despair, turn out to be either a film or a dream of a perpetually sad teacher. He teaches literature, struggles to connect with his students, and seeks refuge from everyday routine by falling asleep on the city’s metro.
Returning to stark realism after several literary adaptations, Muratova captured Soviet and Eastern European life on the eve of a wave of political revolutions.
Filled with apathy and aggression, The Asthenic Syndrome explores the collapse of illusions and the shock of confronting reality. Arguments in queues, crowded metro carriages, faded boards honouring exemplary workers, the atmosphere of a cemetery, chaos, and shouting form a portrait of a society in which familiar authorities and symbols of power are losing their meaning. Drama intertwines with absurdity and comedy, while everyday life takes on an unsettling intensity.
Director: Kira Muratova
Year: 1989
Country: Ukrainian SSR
Studio: Odesa Film Studio
Runtime: 156 minutes
Genre: Comedy, drama
Cinematographers: Viktor Kabachenko, Volodymyr Pankov
Cast: Olha Antonova, Serhii Popov, Halina Zakhurdaieva, Natalia Budko, Oleksandra Svenska, Pavlo Polishchuk, Natalia Rallieva, Halyna Kasperovych, Viktor Aristov, Nikolai Semionov, Oleh Shkolnik.
The film contains strong language.
Earlier that day, at 16:00, Anna Onufriienko will give a lecture titled “The History of Cinema in Ukraine: The 1980s. Kira Muratova.”
📅 November 14 | 18:30
📍 Jam Factory Art Center, Auditorium
124 B. Khmelnytskoho St., Lviv
🎟 Admission is free with advance registration