“Bamba’s character is under developed but the lack of communication between them allows Svetla’s character to open up. It’s a nice festival find.”
Con Nats
3.5 /5 old suitcases
There’s a great range of films on for the Europa Europa Film Festival and here is the second of three my picks from a fascinating programme.
In a small Bulgarian town, Svetla (Svetlana Yancheva), has lost her job when the local school closes down. She talks to her husband’s grave and is surly, lonely old lady. Their town is near the Turkish border and many refugees come through on their way to Germany. A large group of Afghans are arrested the same day Svetla encounters an African refugee, Bamba (Michael Fleming), who she’s forced to look after as the local army struggles to house their Afghani refugees. At one point they’re housed in the old school, then half built apartment blocks. As this absurdity unfolds, Svetla slowly bonds with Bamaba as local tensions rise.
This film is a quirky, black comic tragedy. Some of the imagery of army chiefs drunken dancing goes into absurdity, and there are flashes of humour. I wish there were more to counter balance the brutal dialogue and racism of these peasants.
What stands out in this film is Emil Christov’s photography, under the directorship of writer-director Ivan Hristov. It’s simply beautiful in crisp black and white and as sparse as the dialogue. Some of the scenes showing the unfinished grand hotels says a lot about Bulgaria’s broken dreams and the black and white fits the grey tone of their characters. Bamba’s character is under developed but the lack of communication between them allows Svetla’s character to open up. It’s a nice festival find.
Con Nats, On The Screen
