The Asthenic Syndrome

World Premiere of New 4K Restoration

Written in 1989 just before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, The Asthenic Syndrome is often referred to as a portrait of an era. Central character Nikolai is an English high school teacher at an institution where the principal is struggling to implement revised pedagogical methods called for within the perestroika period. Work and family responsibilities distract him from his true passion—writing. In an effort to escape the despair, confusion, mysticism, and madness of a society in turmoil, he confronts the Dantean hell of late Soviet reality by falling asleep in inappropriate places at the most inappropriate times.

The Asthenic Syndrome is made up of two stylistically and thematically distinct parts that tell the story of two archetypal Soviet intellectuals—Nikolai, the teacher, and Natalia, a doctor—both of whom struggle with feelings of loss and inferiority. In the context of the profound dehumanization of Soviet society of that period, the normality of these characters, who retain the capacity to think and feel, becomes a form of deviation. The film stands apart from Kira Muratova’s previous work as, perhaps, her most radical critical statement. While it’s often seen as an unequivocal indictment of the Soviet project, for Muratova, the film symbolized the illusory nature of humanism and served as a judgment on humanity itself. The film won the Silver Bear when it premiered in the 1990 Berlin Film Festival. A Janus Films release.