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 the fall of 1938, the NKVD arrested Sergei Korolyov. Under torture, the investigators are trying to extract from him a confession of anti-Soviet activities, each time citing incriminating facts from the biography of the young scientist. Plunging into Korolev's memories, the viewer sees what an extraordinary and enthusiastic person he was, how much creative energy and vitality Sergei Pavlovich gave to the development of world cosmonautics.