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sava_chankov
Reviews
Hard Rain (1998)
Clever comment on modern society disguised as action movie
On the surface this movie is action but actually it is about religion and the decline of the modern society that might lead to its demise. Beyond the visible symbolism like the bible quotes on the Flood and an old white bearded man that provides a boat to save the protagonistsetc, there are subtler clues: the lead actor is called Christisan, not Arnold or Silvester. This is not a coincidence. The main battle takes place in a church and the money is hidden in the cemetery makes us but ask are the people who are only concerned with the material truly living, or they belong to the realm of the dead? Looked at from that lense, the unrealistic scenes of guns firing underwater scream: "don't take me literraly, look beyond the veil". And if this is not enough, the end really nails it.
Promises (2021)
Bookie movie
Beautifully shot, unexpected timeline and a lot of jokes. On the other hand the characters were too upper class Europeans to find them relatable. The dialog, although superb, was way too literary - you could easily tell you are watching a book adapted to the screen than a full-blooded fim. I ddn't feel bored even for a second during these two hours, yet something was lacking - the depth was sacrificed for the width. The acting was good, especially the young ones. The audience that would appreciate this movie is middle- and old-aged analog people, while if you come from the generation born on the verge of the 21st century, you may find it awkward (or revealing) how people communicated in the pre-digital era.
The Island (2011)
Amorph and lacking soul
It's a rare for a young director to score high on making his second movie, especially if the first one was successful. Unfortunately, this is the case with «The Island». As much as Kamen Kalev's debut, «Eastern Plays», was emotionally intense, is this one empty and abstract. Daneel, the main character, remained almost as vague and distant to me at the end as he was in the beginning which was promising to take us on an inner journey of emptying his mind and filling his heart. There was some attempt of conflict between him and his girlfriend but it was cut in its beginning and did not develop at all.
Laetitia Casta seems to have been chosen for the lead female role based on her prominence as a model and beautiful body, not dramatic skills. Her emotional range was limited to either a seductive look or sullen temper.
Gitmek: Benim Marlon ve Brandom (2008)
Deserves its Best Balkan Movie Award
I watched this one on the Sofia Film Festival where it was given the Best Balkan Movie Award. Although generally I'm not impressed with stuff like prizes I think it really deserves it, for it is a true Balkan movie - humane, intense, kaleidoscopic, emotional. Emotional in way that brings you very close to the characters; kaleidoscopic as it shows diverse nationalities, customs and landscapes; intense in building empathy for Ayça, the girl in quest for getting together with her loved one; humane in portraying all ordinary people she meets like the Kurdish refugees living illegally in Istanbul and her old Christian grannie neighbours.
Director's feel for detail and real life is extraordinary.
Svetat e golyam i spasenie debne otvsyakade (2008)
Good movie with consistent story
I went to the theater with low expectations of another boring post-totalitarian Bulgarian movie and was pleasantly surprised - it had an actual story which was told consistently, the characters were lively, there were no irritating protracted shots in silence (trademark to many, many other Bulgarian movies) and the dialogue was real. While based on a novel the movie elegantly manages to stay focused and the plot is not overstretched.
Things I didn't like: the one-sided densely evil picture of the totalitarian oppressors that rendered them preposterously inhuman, the clichéd camera (e.g. yellowish retrospectives, rotation around characters while they played backgammon) and superfluous didacticism in some scenes.
All in all it's worth watching, but eight years of script rewriting could yield a bit better result.
Gedo senki (2006)
Sometimes son's way is not like his father's
Everything from a great Studio Ghibli film is here - a female antagonist with moronic assistant, witch that can turn itself into lava-like substance, wizard that fights to keep the world in balance, a young female protagonist that is different than others girls, great sceneries. Yet a key ingredient to bind them all together in a coherent way is missing. The characters are hollow and not true to life. The fights are quite predictable and there were some people in the cinema that could barely held their snigger near the end.
The border that distinguishes the creative borrower from a mere plagiarizer is crossed - during almost all the time it feels like the director has drawn out the scissors and cut liberally footage from his father's masterpieces. One especially annoying example is antagonist's male assistant copied 1:1 from Nausicaa from the Valley.
So if you don't want to spoil your good memories from Miyazaki-father's chef-d'oeuvres, better skip this one.
Smart nyama (1963)
Dramatic and intense
This movie clearly distinguishes itself from other Bulgarian motion pictures of the period by the speed with which the story is told. Peter Slabakov and Medi Dimitrova are incredible - one of the best duos on the theme of impossible love. There are magnificent shots in the otherwise harsh environment of a dam construction site - you wouldn't normally think of pouring muddy water as "beautiful", but the cameraman makes magic with the two colours at his disposal. The characters are full-blown and, uncharacteristically for the era (remember, it's the 60s behind the Iron curtain) the antagonists are not painted in all black - instead they are human creatures with their own problems, fears and hopes. It was banned by the regime because of its earnest exposure of reality.
If you could watch only one Bulgarian movie then this is the one. Were it though available on DVD...
Pismo do Amerika (2000)
Nice attempt, but alas...
All contemporary Bulgarian features share a common problem - they're more of a theater play than cinema. Although this movie really tries to escape the status quo, the feeling that I was watching a play rather than a movie left me only in a few moments - in the scenes with unprofessional actors, who really outperform the professional cast. Unfortunately, the director did not risk shooting the movie without the theatrical actors - I think it would be a lot better if she dared. Another malady of the Bulgarian cinema that plagues this film is the slow manner in which the story is told.
To summarise it: the story is strong, and the real people who play themselves are a bit of a compensation for the other shortcomings.