Birthday prank or existential trap? One man wakes up in 1810 and never wants to leave.
A prosperous businessman Nikita after his birthday party finds himself in a tiny village surrounded by swamps, but what's more - all the peasants there call him "My lord" and are sure that they are living in Russia in the beginning of the 19th century. At first Nikita finds this hard to believe, but later on he settles down quite comfortably and finds his true love. All would have been well if his friends hadn't played a trick on him - yes, that's all been staged and is part of his birthday surprise. Nikita is torn between returning to his modern world and his love
Production
Ridiculously committed 19th-century village set design on clearly limited budget
Acting
Maykov's slow surrender to the role he's trapped in
Writing
The cruel kindness of the final reveal
Director
Vitaliy Potapov
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released during Russia's oil boom, the film satirizes nouveau riche Muscovites romanticizing a 'simpler' feudal past they never experienced.
Director Potapov allegedly based the premise on a real 1990s Moscow trend of 'noble weekends' where businessmen paid to live as 19th-century landowners.
RU
UA
