Dovlatov

Dovlatov (2018) is Alexei German Jr.'s drama, and you can watch it online on iFILM. It follows six autumn days in the life of writer Sergei Dovlatov in early-1970s Leningrad — a stretch when the presses stayed shut to him and he refused to write the way the era demanded.

Dovlatov drifts between editorial offices, literary salons and the corridors of the Lenfilm studio, writing for the drawer and chasing an impossible gift: a doll for his daughter that no shop in the city stocks. At his side is his friend, the poet Joseph Brodsky, soon forced to leave for good. All around them, gifted people are quietly ground down by the state machine. Serbian actor Milan Marić plays Dovlatov, with Danila Kozlovsky alongside him.

The film competed at the 2018 Berlinale and took a Silver Bear for its costume and production design. German Jr. didn't make a date-stamped biopic; he made a few days of mood — wry, melancholy and deeply personal. It's for viewers who love slow auteur cinema and Dovlatov's own prose. Stream Dovlatov online on iFILM.