"Following you" (2011)

FOLLOWING YOU

(feature length film)

Full synopsis

Life – is the chain of interrelated events. Each word, act or failure to act transform the future of the human being, simultaneously influencing the faith of people around. Seldom barely noticeable misstep might lead to the array of misfortune, flush of egoism – provoke tragedy, and slight cowardice – to intervene with the rescue of the precious being. 

Frightening of all is the irreversibility of our actions. Time cannot be reversed: life consists of actions that cannot be replayed. To change the past, correct what was done – we can only dream about it.

Or – write a story.

Kira is only 22 years of age, but in her life there is already: a car accident where her parents have died, paralyzed younger brother Danya thinking of committing suicide and…. feeling guilty of being responsible for everything that has happened.

Like a fired up machine gun, Kira is living her life day after day: looking after Danya, cleaning test-tubes at the institute trying to earn some money, sometimes sleeping with her boss – not love, but in desperation. Doctors say that paralysis and deafness of her brother are not physiologic impairments but the consequence of personal trauma triggered by the death of his parents. Every day moving Danya from his wheelchair around the house she dreams of his sudden recovery.

Danya is also dreaming but about something else. Danya has been waiting to be in the house on his own for a long time. Then he would be able to scrap metal sheets on the balcony and turn the wheels of his wheelchair down onto the far away dark gray asphalt.

Kira and Danya live on the ninth floor.

One day, absorbed in thoughts of the past Kira forgets the keys for the house. When Danya realizes that she has forgotten the keys, he finds himself locked from the outside and nobody will be able to stop him to cut short his life which has become hell. Obsessed by this thought he looks hypnotized – slow movements, soulless glance.

Kira is running around the streets in panic trying to search for spare keys, calling friends but to no avail. While she is trying to call another number suddenly a girl about ten years old runs out on the road next to her. Hurtling towards the young girl at high speed is a truck approaching relentlessly – there is certainly not enough space for stopping. Kira has a small chance to push the girl away from the wheels of the truck but she instinctively gets scared and jumps back. Upon impact Kira’s eyes witness the truck hitting the girl and she closes her eyes tight.

When she opens her eyes she realizes that the time of year has been changed, as well as her clothes and temperature. Kira is transferred back to the morning of the day when her parents died.

Kira distinctively remembers how her parents were preparing for that conference. They were jokingly helping each other to readjust their clothes, hectically packing their suitcases and talking to Danya, after she has joined their conversation. Out of the many empty, stupid arguments has happened. Kira became angry and for half an hour her mother calmed her down. Only after this the parents could leave.

They know they were very late for a conference. Trying to be there for the beginning, their father pressed on the gas and on the corner lost control of the car – the car crashed.

And Danya… Danya found out about the crash and fainted. When he woke up he could not move his legs and listened to the voices of the surrounding world.

Grasping the situation and realizing the time, Kira runs back home where she helps her parents to pack everything up, cuddles them, wishes them well and in time sends them to the conference. The catastrophe is prevented and Kira stops thinking about weird things that have happened. The young girl enjoys playing with her absolutely healthy brother and offer to walk him around sunny city.

On one of the streets the brother and sister witness a horrible event. On the other street few drunk teenagers bully an old dog. The dog howls in pain and horror. Danya begs Kira to help the dog out but Kira is scared of the uncontrollable teenagers. Kira decides to leave the scene and takes her brother away by force. Danya is crying, desperately resisting and finally breaking from his sister’s hands. Without looking he runs into the road to help the dog. Out of nowhere comes a car, Kira desperately shouts and sees...

…the truck at full speed hits the young girl.

Kira shuts her eyes. When she opens her eyes Kira sees that the street is full of snow. Young girl realizes that she is transferred back in time again even further, when the parents were alive and some months before the car accident. She needs to change another unnecessary cruelty of hers’. In that December she deceived her best friend. For no reason – just satisfying her vanity…

…Time after time Kira changes the past. Time after time the young girl tries to prevent her actions, which give her sleepless nights with thoughts about her paralyzed brother. But again and again Kira is back to the point where she started and sees a kid dying by the wheels of a truck.

What is the most frightening thing in our lives? Irreversibility of things that have already happened. Time cannot be listed backwards. The mistakes of the past become reality.

However, every person has a chance not to allow this mistake: at some point to be more kind, braver and generous. Sometimes, forgetting about oneself another person can be saved. His life or his happiness.

In reality Kira does not jump away from the truck. For a second in Kira’s imagination a fantastic story is seen: transferred into the past, miracles, death of young girl, rescued parents. In the next moment Kira is pushing away a young kid from the wheels of the truck.

Kira herself did not have enough time to survive. The large truck kills her.

The survived girl continues her trip. In school she was given an assignment to do a sociological survey on the people leaving in this region. Flat by flat the girl interviews different people and finally she rings the bell of the door where Danya lives. The boy has almost completed his plan by throwing himself off the balcony and his wheelchair is now standing on the edge of the balcony.

A harsh bell unpredictably enters Danya’s consciousness. The boy recovers his hearing, comes to consciousness and wonderingly looks around.  An EMPTY wheelchair is falling down a dark grey asphalt…  

THE END.