Carnet d'un inconnu (Stépantchikovo)

A quiet village becomes the stage for a modest yet vivid portrait of a retired colonel who, after a long military career, settles in Stépantchikovo to live as a country gentleman. Tall, athletic, with a booming laugh and a generous heart, he embraces his new life alongside his young son and his teenage daughter, who arrives from a Moscow boarding school after a family tragedy. Their modest manor quickly fills with the bustling rhythm of servants, dogs, and the daily chores of a small community, offering a glimpse of an almost idyllic rural existence.

Beneath the tranquil surface, familial tensions begin to stir. The colonel’s mother—once a formidable general—objects to his plans for marriage, accusing him of selfishness while wrestling with her own loneliness and past grievances. As strangers and relatives arrive, each bearing their own quirks and hidden motives, the household teeters between harmonious generosity and the inevitable strains of duty, pride, and unspoken resentments, promising a compelling exploration of character and conscience.