Synopsis:

Vassilis, a lonely, middle-aged man, a pawnbroker with a dark past, is fascinated by 18 year-old Zogia, a cellist and immigrant from Tashkent who comes to his shop to pawn objects of very little value. He pursues her and finally she accepts marriage. Very soon their relationship develops into an undeclared war that is exacerbated by social, age and cultural differences. From being her protector the husband becomes her jailer. His possessiveness and tyrannical behavior, her forced isolation gradually lead her to rebellion, silence and to an irrevocable decision. Two creatures who thirst for tenderness. Two worlds that battle each other without mercy for one another. A game of love and chance with unorthodox choices and an unexpected end. “Rakushka” (Shell) is a loose adaptation of Fyodor Dostoievski’s “Krotkaya” (The Gentle Maiden or The Meek One), 1876, set in modern Athens.