Aleksandr Zharov

Aleksandr Zharov’s filmography is a wild ride if you’re into bold stories and a bit of that raw, Eastern European edge. Let’s talk about “V spiskakh ne znachilsya” (2025) first—this one’s no fluffy popcorn flick. It dives straight into the chaos of post-war Soviet life, following a dude who basically doesn’t exist on paper. He’s not in any records, not officially alive, and yet, he’s out there hustling, scraping by, trying to find his place in a society that’s busy pretending people like him don’t exist. There’s this gritty, almost claustrophobic vibe, and Zharov doesn’t sugarcoat a damn thing. It’s messy, emotional, sometimes bleak, but always honest. You feel every blow. Then there’s “Gruppa krovi” (2025), which, if you know your Russian rock, is a nod to Kino’s legendary anthem. This movie’s steeped in ‘80s nostalgia but not in a cute, Instagram-filter way. We get tangled up with a group of friends trying to carve out meaning in a world that’s changing faster than they can keep up. The soundtrack slaps, the characters are flawed as hell, and the whole thing oozes rebellion and longing. It’s the sort of film you finish and just sit there for a minute, letting it sink in. And don’t sleep on “Aleksandr I.”—Zharov’s approach to character-driven drama is something else. He digs deep, pulling out all the messy, complicated bits of his subjects’ lives. You get the sense he’s not interested in heroes or villains, just real people with real scars.