Birds of Paradise

A tense, quietly oppressive watch about people living under constant surveillance, finding small acts of defiance in private spaces.

Directed by

Roman Balayan

Genres

Drama

Starring

Andrey Kuzichev, Oksana Akinshina, Oleg Yankovsky

Overview

The events of the film take place in the Soviet Union in the early 1980s. It is forbidden to listen to foreign radio stations, it is not safe to voice one’s opinions in front of strangers. Words of truth are spoken only in private kitchens behind the curtained windows. The KGB tap phones, survey the ‘unreliable’ and consistently step by step destroy all forms of decent. The protagonists challenge the inhumane state machine, putting on stake their very lives and proving that nothing and nobody can stop a person who is on his way to achieve a true freedom.

How it feels

Tense, dark, melancholic and earnest. Slow-burning and needs your attention.

About

Freedom, power, corruption, isolation

Content

Mild violence, sexual content and language. No gore.

Note

Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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