Day of the Full Moon, a series of vignettes from Russia past and present, summons the spirit of Ophuls’ La Ronde, Altman’s Nashville and Short Cuts, and the time-shifting strategies of Resnais (Mon Oncle d’Amérique) to tell provocative, connected stories illustrating the waltz of years and whim of memory. In 1948, a young man, a boy, and a waiter are captivated during the full moon by a mysterious woman in a  lilac dress. The effects of this event ripple across the years, washing over more than 80 characters, including a disc jockey, a fairy princess, a gangster, Alexander Pushkin, and a nostalgic dog. But which of these are dreams, and which reality? Director Shakhnazarov continues his career-long focus on the intersection of past and present with this mysterious, exhilarating mosaic of humankind, which in the end both seduces and satisfies.

Day of the Full Moon

In pre-Soviet Russia, Boris Savinkov leads a terrorist faction of Socialist-Revolutionary Party members responsible for the deaths of governors and ministers.

The Rider Named Death

Lyubanya, a hairdresser who has lost her job, and her eleven-year-old son find themselves in a difficult situation. She tries to borrow money from his girlfriend Simkina. She agrees to help, but only on the condition that Lyubanya will help her regain the man she loved, a certain Valeriy. Lyubanya must "accidentally" get acquainted with him and pretend to be his ideal, and when he falls in love with the "woman of his dreams" — leave him. Then Simkina will appear to "glue" Valeriy's broken heart, and at the same time their broken relationship. Out of desperation, Lyubanya joins in this game, but very quickly realizes that she has fallen in love. The heroine faces the question: how to tell Valeriy the truth about himself and their "casual" acquaintance?