Directed by Jekaterina Oertel and Ilya Khrzhanovsky, Katya Tanya is perhaps the most accessible and yet the most viscerally disturbing entry in the 14-film cycle. Stripped of the abstract physics metaphors found in films like DAU. Nora Mother or DAU. The Conformist , this film presents a raw, claustrophobic two-hander. It asks a single, brutal question: What happens to intimacy when there are no rules, no privacy, and no escape?
The Grinding of Sand on Tiles…”: Forms of Female Subjectivity in “DAU. Katya Tanya”
The analysis reveals that Katya and Tanya's online interactions and DAU metrics play a significant role in shaping their identities and relationships. Their DAU numbers become a source of validation, influencing their self-esteem and social connections. The series also highlights the performative nature of online interactions, as Katya and Tanya curate their online personas to achieve a desired DAU.
Gritty, observational, psychologically intense. Use close third-person sections alternating between Katya’s sensory-rich, reflective voice and Tanya’s terse, controlled perspective to highlight contrast.
★★★★☆ (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).