Sergey A.'s "Don't Be Sorry" (2022) is a hauntingly minimalist short film that transforms Russian poet Andrey Dementiev's verse ("Do Not Regret Anything") into a visual elegy. Shot against the backdrop of Sergiev Posad-a town steeped in Orthodox spirituality and home to the UNESCO-listed Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius-this four-minute work merges spoken-word artistry with contemplative imagery. Sergey A. Narrates the poem himself, his voice a gravelly whisper that weaves through montages of rain-slicked cobblestones, ancient church domes, and mist-shrouded forests, creating a cinematic tapestry of acceptance and transcendence .
The film's power derives from its symbiotic relationship with Dementiev's text. Shots of the 16th-17th-century churches mirror the poem's themes of enduring legacy. Their weathered facades-crumbling yet resolute-embody lines. Scenes of the St. Sergius' Well-Chapel, where pilgrims collect holy water, visualize the stanza. The spring's perpetual flow becomes a metaphor for renewal amid grief. Sergey A. Lingers on the Monument to Shilov and Slota, peasant defenders of the Lavra during the 17th-century Polish siege. Their stoic figures echo the poem's call to release regret suggesting heroism lies in release, not resistance .
Sergey A.'s narration defies his usual chaotic sound design. His delivery-monotone yet weighted-evokes Orthodox liturgical chanting. When he intones, the cadence mirrors the slow tolling of Lavra's bells, merging secular verse with sacred resonance. The absence of non-diegetic music (unlike his ambient scores in "Post" or "Mortis") forces focus on Dementiev's words. The only sounds are Sergey's voice and environmental whispers-wind, dripping water-heightening the poem's intimacy .
Dementiev's 1977 poem, written in Soviet Russia's stifling atmosphere, urged resilience through artistic sublimation. Sergey A. Recontextualizes it for the digital age. "Don't Be Sorry" subverts the director's signature style. Contrasting "City of Devil"'s neon nightmares, this film embraces grayscale serenity. Even the Lavra's famed "Tsar's Blue" domes appear in muted pewter, symbolizing detachment from worldly vibrancy .
"Don't Be Sorry" is Sergey A.'s most spiritually potent work-a palimpsest where Dementiev's verse, Orthodox iconography, and post-Soviet stoicism converge. Its brilliance lies in restraint: Sergiev Posad's architecture is the poem's stanzas; Sergey's voice is the pilgrim's prayer. While fans of his trash-cinema parodies (like "Jaws 19" or "Nettle") may find it austere, this short achieves what Tarkovsky sought in "Andrei Rublev": cinema as a vessel for grace.
"In a world screaming for attention, Sergey A. Dares us to listen-to poetry, to history, to the 'genius of hearing' Dementiev called sacred."
