Natasha
“It Is the Opposite That Is Good for Us”
Natasha takes place over the course of one summer. It is the story of Mark Berman, 16, the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants living in the suburbs north of Toronto. When his uncle enters into an arranged marriage with woman from Moscow, the woman arrives in Canada with her fourteen year-old daughter, Natasha. Mark, a slacker, is conscripted by his parents to take responsibility for the strange girl. He learns that, in Moscow, she’d led a troubled and promiscuous life. A secret and forbidden romance begins between the two of them that has bizarre and tragic consequences for everyone involved.
A stifling summer in the suburbs breeds a dangerous, forbidden attraction. This indie drama feels raw and intimate, exploring the quiet desperation and unsettling consequences of youthful longing against a backdrop of cultural disconnect.
