The Asthenic Syndrome

At her husband's funeral, Natasha erupts in rage and despair, losing control of her emotions. She lashes out provocatively and aggressively at those around her, shocking the mourners. Unable to maintain her public composure, she walks away from the ceremony, signaling a collapse in her inner stability.

After leaving the hospital where she worked as a doctor, Natasha seeks connection by approaching two random strangers. The first encounter leaves her confused and angry, underscoring her emotional disarray. This marks the beginning of a spiral driven by her unresolved turmoil.

The second encounter triggers a brief fling that Natasha soon regrets, revealing her desperation to feel alive. She panics when he leans in for a kiss, overwhelmed by her own tremors of emotion. The moment deepens her sense of vulnerability and instability.

After the emotional storm, Natasha regains her bearings and accepts a small act of kindness from a stranger. The gesture provides a rare moment of steadiness and human connection. It hints at a possible path toward healing amid her turmoil.

We learn that the first part of Natasha's story is being presented as a black-and-white film screened in a theater. The revelation reframes the events as fiction, setting up the transition to the color second part. The meta-framing underscores the boundary between story and spectatorship.

The second part switches to color and follows Nikolai, a tired and disillusioned schoolteacher. He has fallen asleep during the screening of the black-and-white film that framed Natasha's story. His fatigue mirrors the film's themes of detachment and weariness.

Nikolai wakes briefly, leaves the theater, and then drifts into sleep again on the crowded subway. The audience's chaotic departure includes a screener’s plea to stay for the Q&A with actress Olga Serghjevna, which the crowd ignores. The moment mocks the public's restless response to art.

Back in daily life, Nikolai continues to doze off, this time during a school meeting, illustrating the persistence of his exhaustion. The pattern suggests a deeper fragility that pervades both his personal and professional worlds. Sleep becomes a recurring, symbolic interruption in his life.

The escalating symptoms compel Nikolai to be admitted to a hospital for the mentally ill. There, he confronts his own vulnerability and the alienation that surrounds him. The setting serves as a crucible for reevaluating concepts of sanity and freedom.

Inside the hospital, Nikolai realizes that the people around him are not crazier than those who live in freedom. This insight reframes his understanding of sanity and social norms. The revelation marks a turning point in his inner journey toward acceptance.

After some time, Nikolai is released from the hospital with a tempered perspective on life and sanity. He attempts to resume his everyday routines, carrying the weight of his experiences but hoping for a steadier future. The exit from the hospital signals a new phase of adjustment.

Back in the world, Nikolai continues to fall asleep in public spaces, including another subway ride. The persistent fatigue underscores a lasting fragility and the film's meditation on the boundaries between wakefulness and surrender. The pattern leaves him on the brink of another uncertain moment.

The film closes on a stark image: an empty subway wagon carrying the sleeping Nikolai toward a dark tunnel. The visual emphasizes isolation, fatigue, and the unknown ahead. It leaves the audience with a haunting sense of ambiguity about what comes next.