RRFF18: Jumpman

The Story

One of Russia’s most provocative directors, Ivan Tverdovskiy follows up the controversial Zoology with a very different animal, a stylish and emotionally powerful thriller that offers a potent indictment of the corruption in Russian society. This film follows the story of Denis, a young boy dumped for adoption as a baby who suffers from a peculiar condition – an inability to feel pain. Upon discovery of this ability, his mother reappears to retrieve Denis and enlists him in a criminal scam that sees him thrown in front of cars to blackmail drivers. This crime syndicate includes a judge, lawyers, police and a doctor who all bend their own moral and professional ethics to further their financial interests. Jumpman continues the Tverdovskiy’s interest in the outsider struggle in Russia’s conformist society and the moral decrepitude of the deteriorating conception of family. This tough, stylish and brutally cynical contemporary fable serves up an alarming portrait of negligent parenting and moral vacuousness that demands a metaphorical interpretation.

Rating

R18

Duration

Cast

Denis Vlasenko, Anna Slyu, Pavel Chinarev, Vilma Kutavicuite, Alexandra Ursulyak

Director

Ivan Tverdovskiy