directed by Ivaylo Hristov
What would you say for a Bulgarian production about the irrational world we’re living in? I’m glad you’re so enthusiastic. We get to know Svetla (Svetlana Yancheva), a simple woman living in a village close to the Bulagarian-Turkish border. She has recently lost her husband and her job. One day, she bumps into a stranger in the forest. He turns out to be Bamba (Michael Flemming), a refugee from Africa. Svetla doesn’t speak English and isn’t very friendly towards Bamba, but the more time they spend together, the more similarities between each other they notice. However, this bonding isn’t happening in the most peaceful circumstances as people in the village are rather prejudiced and see Bamba as some kind of threat. At some point Svetla has to decide whether she keeps getting to know Bamba or she will kick him out of her house as everybody around them would do. For the first hour, I was rather curious about the story and, to be honest, it didn’t give me any chills or excitement. But after the idea for the film finally sank into my brain, I realised that I really really really enjoy it. You may feel lost at first, but in the end I’m sure that a lot of you will appreciate what they did there. Basically, it’s a film about fear. The fear that we feel towards everything we don’t know. And because of that fear, we tend to create strange scenarios in our heads, which later turn into non-existing realities in which we’re stuck as people. Shortly speaking, here we have a story of villagers who are scared of a black-skinned refugee speaking another language. And since meeting such person is a new experience for them all, they behave the only way they can. If someone tells them that such person is dangerous, they will automatically be cautious. Lack of linguistic competences leads to frustration and many misunderstandings, but we often don’t even care to think about it. It’s just easier to accept the most popular scenario, even if it’s absolutely made up. I’m really thrilled that I found this film and even more about sharing it with you now. What’s more, and it’s unusual in my case, I appreciate that it’s in black and white, but it’s because it makes sense – you just need to watch till the end to understand. I honestly finished this film saying “I loved it!” and I hope you’ll be equally excited. And way more open-minded towards the unknown.
My rating: 7/10
S.
I have nothing to watch 