Dau. Katya Tanya _top_ -

DAU is a multidisciplinary film project and cultural phenomenon centered on the life and experiments of Soviet physicist Lev Landau and the reconstruction of a Soviet-era institute as a living set. For Katya and Tanya, two fictional (or real, depending on context) figures connected to DAU, this write-up traces their roles, motivations, interactions, and emotional journeys within the DAU environment.

The film focuses on the emotional journey of Katya, played by professional model Ekaterina Yuspina in her first leading role.

For those searching for , you are likely looking for the key to understanding the project’s emotional core. Here, we dissect the film’s plot, its terrifying performances, and why this specific chapter haunts viewers long after the credits roll.

The relationship between Katya and Tanya is not a narrative. It is a ritual. And by the final shot—Tanya alone at the table, Katya passed out in the bedroom, the camera slowly racking focus to a fly on a dirty plate—you realize there is no moral. There is only the loop. DAU. Katya Tanya

Regardless of where you stand, the film lingers. Days after watching, you will not remember a plot point; you will remember the specific, exhausted way Tanya exhales when she hears Katya’s key in the lock. You will remember that love, when stripped of mutual respect, looks exactly like a prison cell.

(original title: Катина Таня or variations focusing on the two women) is the second film in the series released in 2020 via the DAU Cinema platform. Running approximately 100 minutes, it shifts focus from the male-dominated corridors of power (the institute) to the claustrophobic, floral-wallpapered purgatory of a shared apartment.

Their relationship is deemed "unacceptable for a Soviet woman" and is eventually crushed by the interference of the (state security) and the Institute's First Department. Patriarchal Pressure: DAU is a multidisciplinary film project and cultural

The oppressive climate of the Soviet era, epitomized by the , is the omnipresent third character in this drama. This was a real administrative branch of Soviet scientific institutes, responsible for vetting employees and controlling all access to classified information. In the film, it transforms into a chilling, all-seeing eye of the state, working through informants and enforcing ideological purity.

A glimmer of warmth and tenderness finally emerges when Katya meets Tanya (Tatyana Polozhiy), a journalist who shares her love of literature. In a series of intimate, emotionally frank encounters, the two women find in each other a tenderness and understanding missing from Katya’s other relationships. In the totalitarian, hyper-vigilant environment of the DAU universe, where the state security services (the "First Department") watch every interaction, this burgeoning love is an act of profound, forbidden transgression. What makes the film unique is that Katya’s journey is not merely one of romantic awakening, but a tragic, heroic struggle to carve out a space for authentic feeling in a system built on paranoia and fear.

The inciting incident is banal: The scientist/husband leaves for a conference. Or does he? He simply disappears into the DAU universe’s other rooms, abandoning Katya to her demons. For those searching for , you are likely

DAU is a remarkable project that has been pushing the boundaries of art and cinema for over a decade. At its heart are Katya and Tanya, two talented women who have become the faces of this innovative project. Through their performances, Katya and Tanya have brought DAU to life, offering a glimpse into a world that is both familiar and strange.

★★★★☆ (4/5 - Masterful but excruciating) Streaming: Available on the DAU Cinema platform (Mubi previously held rights, check local listings). Similar films: Requiem for a Dream (psychological collapse), Jeanne Dielman, 23 Commerce Quay (domestic dread), The Piano Teacher (eroticized suffering).