What to watch, read, and listen to on a plane

Colin Farrell in the Irish countryside, a true-crime series with Ivan Yankovsky, a podcast about corporations, and a new book by Hanya Yanagihara, author of 'A Little Life' — we tell you how to keep yourself busy on a flight or during a layover.

Watch

Movies 

"Everything Everywhere All at Once" — for those who handle turbulence well

A 50-year-old Chinese woman, fed up with her relatives, travels through universes to save the world — that's the plot of the Oscar-winning film. Add to this jumpy editing, dark humor, absurd images like a woman with hot-dog fingers, fights, and the constantly changing personalities of the main character, and you get a strange, crazy movie worth watching to understand the reason for its victory — mass hysteria or a truly innovative approach. 

"The Fabelmans" — for those who fly solo

Steven Spielberg ("Catch Me If You Can," "Jurassic Park") directed a tender and personal film, sharing stories from his childhood, his love for cinema, and his parents' divorce. Paul Dano plays the family patriarch, mathematician Burt, who can't understand why his son needs a camera if he's not going to fix it or tighten screws, while Michelle Williams plays the mother who sacrificed her love for art for her family.

You don't actually need to know the director or his biography. The film works well both as another story about a tragic and unsuccessful marriage and as a classic coming-of-age movie: with family problems, school bullying, first love, first fall, and first triumph.

"The Banshees of Inisherin" — for those who feel sad during a flight

A new film by Irish director Martin McDonagh ("In Bruges"). Pádraic and Colm are old friends who have known each other forever and go to drink ale at the same tavern. Suddenly, one of them announces that he has decided to dedicate himself to music, and so their friendship is over.

The action takes place on an Irish island in the 1920s: a civil war is raging on the mainland, and in parallel, a struggle unfolds between two men. One cannot accept being rejected, the other suffers because he cannot create music that would become part of eternity, and it all ends badly. 

A few hooks to make sure you watch it: the excellent duo of Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, Irish landscapes, and the charming donkey actress Jenny.

"Babylon" — for those facing a long flight

A new film from "La La Land" director Damien Chazelle, which tells how the era of silent cinema ended in Hollywood, replaced by sound and the puritanical Hays Code. Starring the brilliant Margot Robbie, who plays a substance-abusing starlet, Brad Pitt, and Mexican debutant actor Diego Calva, who steals all the girls' hearts. 

For three hours, on screen, they dance, catch snakes, shoot each other, fall into pools, yell at each other, lose money, flee the city, and shout: "Camera, action!", and from the dirt, sweat, and deaths on set, the most important of arts is born. A special feature of "Babylon" is its brilliant music: the soundtrack gets stuck in your head within the first few minutes and haunts you for another week.

Series

"Fisher" — for true-crime lovers

Almost "True Detective," but set in the realities of the late Soviet Union. Instead of Texan Rust Cohle, there's Rostov native Evgeny Bokov, played by Ivan Yankovsky; instead of stuffy Louisiana, there's Rublyovskoye Highway. The story is based on real events, and the characters are searching for a real maniac. 

Besides the maniacal-detective storyline, the series even has a feminist agenda, as much as possible in our latitudes: the main character not only works in a "male" profession and faces devaluation of her work by a colleague, but also single-handedly raises a dark-skinned child after the 1980 Olympics. All in all, it's one of the most interesting and complex stories in Russian true crime in recent years. 

"Chaliapin" — for those returning home from vacation

If you're not allergic to endless biopics about cultural figures, watch this one. It lovingly portrays pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg, doesn't just retell Wikipedia, but handles facts carefully — which is already a lot for a historical series. Fyodor Chaliapin is played by Alexander Gorbatov ("And Quiet Flows the Don," "Bad Weather," "Kept Women"). 

"The Consultant" — for those flying to get a break from the boss

A story about a toxic boss, played in his charming manner by Christoph Waltz — one of modern cinema's main villains. The plot is as follows: a strange business consultant is invited to a company facing big problems. Gradually, he turns his employees' lives into hell. The series looks like a mix of "Severance" and "The Office," maintains intrigue excellently, and leaves plenty of mysteries for theory-builders — in short, binge-watching it during a single Moscow-Phuket flight is quite realistic.

Listen

 "Competitors" — for those flying on a business trip to sort things out

A podcast by Tochka Bank and Libo/Libo studio, which explores how various businesses competed with each other — from fast-food kings McDonald's and Burger King to space conquerors Blue Origin and SpaceX. It will be interesting not only for entrepreneurs but also for anyone who loves inspiring stories about corporations and dreams of working at Netflix.

"Postcard Places" — for those traveling across Russia

Russian Post has its own podcast! Yes, no more jokes about slow parcel delivery and lack of digitalization. Among the guests are guides, bloggers, and locals from different parts of the country, who fascinatingly talk about Tambov Hogwarts, frozen Baikal, and Voronezh Switzerland. After listening to one episode, you immediately want to buy tickets on Kupi.com and explore all the places you haven't been yet. 

"Previously On" — for those who can't choose a series

Without further ado: a truly useful podcast. Streaming services churn out new content every day, and we spend more time compiling must-see lists than watching the series themselves. The hosts discuss major new series and sometimes recall forgotten old ones — in short, a decent must-watch list can be compiled just from the episode titles.

Read

Alexey Ivanov "Armored Steamships" — for those planning a trip along the Volga

A new story from Russia's most adapted writer about industrial progress and the fate of business during the Civil War. As always, Ivanov tells the reader about the most significant periods of Russian history, showing it from a new perspective. Not the struggle between Whites and Reds, but the rivalry of two oil companies for influence in Bolshevik Russia; not Moscow and St. Petersburg, but Ivanov's beloved provinces: Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Omsk. Definitely worth reading for those who were never afraid of the scale of "And Quiet Flows the Don" and "War and Peace." Or for those flying to Vladivostok.

Islam Khanipaev "Like Me. Diary of a Super Cool Warrior" — for those ready for adventure

A 180-page novella written from the perspective of an eight-year-old boy living in Makhachkala. The boy lost his mother, and his classmates bully him, so the hero finds solace in communicating with his imaginary friend Ali. A light and inspiring book about growing up and overcoming trauma, which takes you back to childhood and vaguely resembles coming-of-age stories — from the Karlsson-on-the-Roof trilogy to the adventures of Molly Moon.

Oksana Vasyakina "Steppe" — for those who'd rather have driven

A book that could be turned into a dark road movie: a daughter travels through the Russian steppe with her long-haul truck driver father, whom she hasn't seen in years. A reflection on people who lost their future at a historical turning point in the 1990s, and on the complex relationships many women have with absent fathers who reappear when it's too late. 

 Ottessa Moshfegh "My Year of Rest and Relaxation" — for those who are very tired 

The main character is a university graduate who has everything: an apartment, a job, money, but something is missing from this whole puzzle, and what it is — it's impossible to understand. Then the heroine gets an idea: she needs to rest. Not just take a day off or a two-week vacation, but truly rest: sleep for a whole year. A relevant book for millennials who are searching for themselves, whether in coaching, therapy, or Bali.

Hanya Yanagihara "To Paradise" — for those who want to travel not only the world but also through time

A new book from the author of "A Little Life" — a dystopian novel where the action takes place simultaneously in 1893, 1993, and 2093. Hanya Yanagihara boldly rewrites America's past, present, and future, placing the anxieties and problems of her era — the stigmatization of sexuality, the threats of pandemic and totalitarianism — into the realm of fiction. Critics have already called the novel a new "Decameron" and "The Great Gatsby."

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