Star

Three lives touch each other in Moscow. Kostya, fifteen, gets on with nobody and has withdrawn into himself. His stepmother Rita is wealthy, groomed and, seen from outside, has everything. Masha is a young woman who wants to act, has nothing and has not given up hope. As the three paths cross, all of them turn out to be more fragile than they thought. Anna Melikyan's film holds the bright surface of Moscow and the emptiness under it in the same frame: advertising hoardings, clinics, shopping centres and the people walking between them. Comedy and tragedy keep swapping places, and for a long time the film does not reveal which it will settle on. Tinatin Dalakishvili, who plays Masha, is the surprise of the film. The narrative looks down on none of the characters; it takes each one's desire seriously and shows the price as well.