本片起用大量素人演员，故事剧情建构在片中演出者的真实人生上，但写实之外，导演更点入了许多神奇超现实的荒诞色彩，夜晚现身的俄罗斯蓝眼猫，缓缓升空的火箭，包含诸多暗示和寓意，搭配壮丽湖泊及美如人间天堂的村景，使得电影中处处充满诗意和平静，被喻为该年度威尼斯影展最大惊喜。 俄罗斯北部一座与世隔绝的岛上，一名驾驶着快艇穿梭于湖中的邮差，便是村民与外界联系的唯一办法。尽管湖的对岸就是文明世界，村子裡的人们仍维持这最简单纯朴的自给自足生活，村里没有政府机构，也没有社会救助和就业需求，邮差成了他们和外面世界沟通的唯一桥梁。每天邮差送信到每一户人家，和不同村民聊这不同的闲话，他关心独居的酒鬼老人，更暗恋着这里的寡妇艾瑞娜，经常照顾她的儿子。然而，艾瑞娜却选择带着儿子到城市工作，而快艇的马达也被人偷了，无法正常工作，他生活的存在和意义被打乱… 影片导演荣获第71届威尼斯电影节最佳导演殊荣。

Dark Spell is a story about the girl named Zhenya who suffers from being in love with her husband that has left her, so she decides to bring him back. Desperate heroine casts a spell called "Black Wedding", which is a magical ritual known for its great power and irreversibility. After the ritual, her beloved husband comes back, although his love becomes more like an obsession: he is even ready to kill Zhenya, so as not to give her to anyone. When the maddened husband dies, the spell does not stop: because even death will not part those who were betrothed by the demon of black wedding.