Spatial Fantasies in Contemporary Russian Cinema

Fantastic film worlds give the viewer a new experience of understanding and living in space – combining different locations, establishing and overcoming boundaries, transitions into a fascinating other reality. This article examines the spatial patterns that create arenas of action for characters in Russian films and series of fantasy-mystical content shot in the 2020s. Analyses of worldbuilding in science fiction are related to philosophical ideas about possible worlds and are most represented by discussions of fantasy literature, whereas film fiction and the spaces it depicts await research attention. The authors dissect spatial patterns in sci-fi cinema as a reflection of current social conflicts/divisions and solidarities/convergences; reflecting on how spatial configurations encode the unprecedented mediation of modern technologies and normalize futuristic spatial practices. The focus is on the recurring film-to-film emphasis on the permeability, hybridity and tunnelling of space, on the phantasmagoria of non-releasing places. Russian cinema responds to an ontological philosophical agenda by visualizing the permeability of boundaries and the co-presence of man and other beings. The analysis shows that the portals and roads linking dream and reality, Soviet and modern Moscow, the cyber village on Mars and other planets of the solar system bear a significant plot load. The movement of the characters in an extraordinary space reproduces the archetypal test of the road and provides an opportunity to discuss social and attitudinal issues relevant to the Russian present. Particular attention is paid to the pattern of non-releasing space, which concentrates the fear of isolation characteristic of the established culture of mobility. Science fiction in cinema immerses viewers in worlds inhabited by unusual creatures, filled with artefacts, infrastructure, often through plot tension, frightening hints, visual effects draws attention to significant problems and challenges, including in the discussion of images of the future.

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