"Happy People" tells about well-to-do and rich friends faced with an entertainment problem. There is nothing for them to be happy about. They make one more attempt, but unfortunately, the last "pompous" joint endeavor aimed at cheering them up ends in a fiasco. The resulting crisis is obvious to all, so the friends agree on the following game for two players: every Wednesday, one player gives the other a task which is to be carried out by any means. The task can be rather strange, absurd, cruel or impracticable. The next week, the two players trade places. The only restriction is that the task should not be life-threatening or result in commiting a crime – although the restriction is cancelled some time later. The outer world as well as the friends' inner lives change as the weeks go by. Instead of looking for high-level, magnificent entertainment, the friends develop a taste for fantastic attractions – and ultimately rediscover joy in life. The drama concludes in a fantastical happy ending that shows the hidden human potential – both personal and social – that is opened up by the creation of parallel worlds.
Production: Panopticum, Lazaretty Ltd., Kiew
World Sales: Lazaretty Ltd., Kiew
Screenplay: Aleksandr Shapiro
Cinematographer: Michail Tonkonogow
Art Direction: Iwan Lewtschenko
Costume Design: Sergej Jermakow
Composer: Jewgenij Kekuch
Cast: Konstantin Zabajkalski, Witalj Linetskij, Katja Winogradowa, Fedor Bondartschuk
Format, sreen ratio: 35mm, 1:1.78, Color
Running time: 103 minutes, 24 frames/sec.
Language: Russian
