Corrections Class
| Corrections Class | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Ivan Tverdovskiy |
| Written by | Mariya Borodyanskaya Dmitry Lanchikhin Ivan Tverdovskiy |
| Produced by | Natalya Mokritskaya Ulyana Saveleva Mila Rozanova Michael Kaczmarek |
| Starring | Mariya Poezzhaeva Filipp Avdeev Nikita Kukushkin Natalya Pavlenkova Olga Lapshina Natalya Domeretskaya |
| Cinematography | Fedor Struchev |
Release date |
|
Running time | 98 min |
| Country | Russia |
| Language | Russian |
Corrections Class (Template:Lang-ru) is a 2014 Russian drama film directed by Ivan Tverdovskiy. It premiered on the 4th of June 2014 at Kinotavr where it won the prize for Best Debut and the Prize of Film Distributors Jury.[1] The film also received the East of the West Award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.[2]
Plot
Lena is a bright, disabled girl with myopathy who must use a wheelchair to get around. After years being homeschooled by her protective mother, she is keen to get back to school. She is assigned to a special class for physically and psychologically disabled students who have to present themselves before a school commission at the end of the year in order to prove that they merit being moved back into a "normal" class. There she meets a group of students: Mishka, brother and sister Mitka and Vitka, Olya, and Anton. Though initially appearing to be her friends, they quickly display high degrees of callousness when they exploit her condition to solicit money from passers-by, and treat it as a joke when one of their classmates is killed attempting to lie beneath a moving train - an activity which the group indulges in to kill their boredom. Their teachers, meanwhile, treat the corrections class with contempt and show absolutely no desire to motivate the students or help them improve.
Anton, however, treats Lena with kindness, and the two soon begin a relationship. Lena admonishes the group for their behavior and urges them to concentrate on passing the commission so they can get back to normal school. Lena and Anton's relationship, however, upsets the rest of the group, particularly Mishka, who concocts a plan with the rest of the group to have sex with Lena. After stealing her wheelchair, they separate her from Anton, and Mishka and Mitka attempt to rape Lena while Vitka and Olya shoot video on their phones. However they find they cannot complete the act, and leave her beaten and bruised on the side of the train tracks.
The final day of school arrives and the students get their results - every one of them has passed, except for Lena, who the commission votes to keep on in the corrections class another year. When Lena asks the group why they did what they did, they cruelly insult her. Anton, who does not know about the rape, also begins ignoring her. The final scene is of Lena's mother collapsing in the school hallway in tears, when Lena appears behind her - walking unassisted without her wheelchair.
Cast
Reception
The film had a positive reception[3] and received praise from GQ,[4]The Hollywood Reporter,[5]Gazeta.ru.[6]
References
- ^ "Winners of the 25th Open Russian film festival Kinotavr". Kinotavr.
- ^ "FINAL PRESS RELEASE July 12th 2014" (PDF). Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
- ^ "Отзывы и рецензии на фильм Класс коррекции". Kritikanstvo.
- ^ "Несчастливое детство". GQ.
- ^ "Рецензия: «Класс коррекции»". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ "«Если мальчик и девочка понимают...»". Gazeta.ru.