They come across many hurdles but the last encounter is with a beautiful young doctor who tends to the father's wounds. Since she is single and lonely they begin to fall for each other. The son who sees her as an intrusion on the only loving relationship in his life sets off to complete the journey by himself… The relationship between father and son is genuinely expressed through illuminating details. A simple plot, gracefully composed with stunning lyrical visuals, spaced-out dreamy shots and a loving eye for natural beauty... recalls vintage Terrence Malick For the spectator it is a charming riddle, a hypnotic road movie that has a balance between an earthly realism and a parable open to symbolism and interpretation. It is also the story of the Russian landscape and the people living in the countryside: writers and directors Khlebnikov and Popogrebsky travelled together with the director of photography Shandor Berkeshi for over 4000 kilometres through rural Russia and the Ukraine to find locations for the film. KOKTEBEL was first conceived in 1995. First draft was completed in 1998. In May of 2000, writers/directors Khlebnikov and Popogrebsky and director of photography Berkeshi set off on an expedition along the route of the protagonists from Moscow to the eponymous town at the Crimean Peninsula in order to gather additional material and search for locations. Covering 4,000 km of country roads and sleeping in a tent, they took pictures of landscapes and people of rural Russia and Ukraine. Two more expeditions followed in 2001 and 2002.

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