Somewhere between Saint Petersburg and the town of Uglich is a deserted belltower. Those who enter the belltower go straight to heaven—if they are chosen. No one knows how it works, but it is certain that happiness awaits there. A ragtag group of five misfits embark on the journey.

It’s a bold director that remakes a film by Andrei Tarkovsky. Aleksey Balabanov’s final feature reimagines the maestro’s existential epic, Stalker. The journey here is a search for happiness, en route to a finale centred on a moving Balabanov cameo that caps his career with poignancy and grace.