Crystal Swan
Khrustal | Хрусталь
Synopsis
In 1990s Belarus, young Evelina dreams of moving to Chicago where she can pursue her passion for house music. However, obtaining a US visa proves difficult and, determined to flee the country, she takes the risk of buying a letter of employment from the black market.
Our take
The exuberant and stylish debut from Belarusian director Darya Zhuk cares little for 90s nostalgia, and instead is suffused with vivid sympathy, wry humor, and a heartfelt touch. Equal praise is due Alina Nasibullina, who fully embodies a young woman’s desire to change her life. A winning film.
Critics reviews
Crystal Swan is rich in analogical pleasures, which are rooted in the film’s narrative premise and rife with metaphorical possibilities.
Diego Semerene
May 20, 2020
Zhuk’s film may be set in 1996, but the tension it outlines between young Eastern Europeans yearning for a new life and an older, more staid generation bewildered by the youth exodus still feels thoroughly of the moment.
Guy Lodge
July 01, 2018
By circling back to its beginning, Crystal Swan treats all the generational resistance and benumbed cynicism with humor and astute consideration.
Savina Petkova
May 25, 2010
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