Soviet orphan kids hide a dead body. The real horror is the system.
"Horror" film about the harsh lives of the children living in an outwardly prosperous orphanage. When a young boy dies during a clandestine mutual drug-taking session, his accomplices unsuccessfully try to hide his corpse to evade punishment, and then the orphanage management tries to hush up the whole affair to keep up appearances.
Acting
Child performances that feel terrifyingly authentic, not precocious.
Direction
Mkrtchyan's clinical eye makes prosperity look like a prison.
Director
Albert Mkrtchyan
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Made during glasnost, this was one of the first Soviet films to openly criticize state-run child welfare institutions without metaphor or allegory.
The 'public house' title refers to both the orphanage and the Soviet public facade—everyone performing prosperity while children literally die in the walls.
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