ZOOLOGY

Natasha has an office job at a zoo with coworkers who despise and bully her. But she finds solace in the zoo’s four-legged, long-tailed inhabitants. Her life is dull, monotonous, and gray like the Russian town in which she lives. However, when she goes to her doctor for x-rays on her lower back to help figure out why she’s having pain, we soon discover Natasha is keeping a rather long secret tucked into her panties. On the back side. ZOOLOGY is a modern fairy tale – so to speak – about a woman finding her Prince Charming even when she’s surrounded by people who don’t see her. When Natasha meets Peter, her radiologist, he accepts her right away and doesn’t blink at the rather large appendage growing from her tailbone. A relationship is instantly sparked, and Peter brings something out of Natasha that transforms her from an ugly duckling to a spritely woman with new hair, new looks, and a new lease on life. But the very moment Natasha is relieved of all inhibitions, she’s quickly reminded of who she really is and is not. Shocking yet enchanting, ZOOLOGY is a remarkable character study that lures you in until the tail end. (In Russian with subtitles) – T.W.