A Different Life

Images of alcoholic parents and abused children are accompanied by traditional folk music, praising the village life in Russia. Due to a shortage of work in the village, residents find comfort in drinking binges. This portrait of V. G. Satunov, the local policeman in the Irkutsk country district, openly presents common issues faced in a traditional Russian village without any false romantic ideals. The camera crew accompanies Satunov as he enters the homes of various villagers in order to make official reports of alcoholism and abuse. Picturesque scenes of village landscapes and interviews with Satunov and with local villagers are intercut with black and white television images of city life in Moscow which includes scenes of police fighting big crime. This is a stark contrast to the mundane yet severe recurring issues of alcoholism and domestic violence in a rural Russian village. The soundscape is an intricate and seamless blend of traditional folk music and ominous orchestral soundtrack interwoven with location recordings of machines and interviews with children, school teachers, parents, and the policeman. This portrayal of a village and its police officer is at once beautifully rendered and depressingly frank.