31/10/2024 - Filip Remunda offers a peek into modern Russian life following a nuclear physicist whose frustrations mirror the fractures of a society caught between Soviet nostalgia and capitalist disillusionment

Czech documentary filmmaker Filip Remunda, known as one half of the duo that popularised docu-mockumentaries domestically, most recently with Once Upon a Time in Poland [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], has made a solo film entitled Happiness to All [+see also:
interview: Filip Remunda
film profile], a time-lapse documentary filmed between 2016 and 2024, which is premiering in the Opus Bonum and Czech Joy sections at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival. The director follows Vitaly Panasyuk, a nuclear physicist and record-holder in extreme cold-exposure training who now ekes out a living as a bricklayer, surviving below the poverty line in Novosibirsk. Supporter of Vladimir Putin, Vitaly has fallen on hard times, losing his job, his mortgage, and ultimately his home. He now lives in a dilapidated apartment with his dog, posts eccentric video blogs, and attends his own self-run fight club.

Happiness to All sits at the intersection of Remunda’s previous work, which includes collaborations with Vitaly Mansky on documentaries about the shifting Russian landscape, such as Eastern Front [+see also:
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interview: Vitaly Mansky, Yevhen Titar…
film profile], and his explorations of the Czech identity and psyche with Vít Klusák in Czech Dream, Czech Peace [+see also:
trailer
film profile], and the television series Czech Journal. Over an eight-year period, Remunda captures Vitaly’s transformation from a patriot into a disillusioned critic of modern Russia’s capitalist system. His life, once aligned with Soviet ideals, deteriorates into an economic struggle and he becomes increasingly radicalised, using his video blogs to voice his disdain for the perceived failings of contemporary Russia.

The film is a sociological probe into Russian society before and after the invasion of Ukraine, tracing the ideological undercurrents that have shaped post-Soviet Russia. Over the course of the film, Vitaly marries in his fifties, though his marriage is largely long-distance, and he has frequent conflicts with his parents—former Soviet scientists who revere the stability of the old regime while despising “the Western world”. In one scene, Vitaly’s elderly scientist father chastises the younger generation for obsessing over “getting likes”, while Vitaly himself records a series of online rants and videos on weather phenomena on his videoblog. His character epitomises a generational frustration with authority and the lack of stability common across former Soviet states.

Remunda’s film resonates with Klusák’s The White World According to Daliborek [+see also:
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interview: Vít Klusák
film profile], which was described as “a portrait of a gentle neo-Nazi.” While Remunda avoids the stylisation Klusák employed, there are parallels in the protagonists’ disillusionments and the humour that emerges from their unfiltered expression. However, Remunda’s take is less overtly satirical; here, the humour is largely accidental, stemming from Vitaly’s candid nature and his tendency to share unrestrained thoughts. The title, Happiness to All, is taken from Vitaly’s own catchphrase, which becomes more ironic as he grows increasingly nostalgic for the USSR, disdainful of the West, and sceptical of Russia’s trajectory, expressing his frustrations through a blend of nostalgia, cynicism, and increasingly frequent facial tics.

The documentary offers a peak of the generational and ideological divisions growing in post-Soviet Russia, where older generations cling to the stability of the past whilst youngsters adopt radicalised views as an outlet for their frustrations. Vitaly’s journey encapsulates this divide, his disenchantment emblematic of a man left behind by a society he once identified with. The documentary opens a rare and unvarnished window onto the life of a real Russian outside of Moscow (the working title was It’s Not Moscow Here!) through a protagonist who unwittingly reveals more than he is aware of. The film also serves as a commentary on the repercussions of prolonged socio-economic disenfranchisement, the allure of authoritarian ideologies in times of upheaval and radicalisation-fuelling frustrations.

Happiness to All is produced by Hypermarket Films in co-production with Volya Films, Mandra Films and the Czech Television. World sales are handled by Andana Films.