The film is split into three unchronological parts. The first in named 'Words', where a monk who has taken a vow of silence, lets an Albanian girl hide inside his bed chambers. He learns she is escaping, because she is accused of killing a man. As a macedonian gang approach the monestary, he tries to keep her secret. The second part 'faces' is set in London, England. Anne is an English photographer who must choose between her boyfriend Nick, or her adventurous lover Aleksander, although she didn't need to as fate takes the helm. The third part is named 'Pictures' and is set in Macedonia, where Aleksander visits his home village after 16 years. Tensions between the Macedonians and the Bosnians are rising, and everyone carries a gun with them.
The quote at the beginning of the film states: "Time never dies, the circle is not round". Easy to ignore and forget about, but as the film approaches it's end, you realise the chapters aren't random, but tell a narrative which starts and finishes 40 minutes into the film. You do not realise this until the finale, resulting in a massive bone tingling surprise at the end.
The acting is powerful, particularly Alexsander, or 'Boris the Blade' from 'Snatch'. The London storyline suffers from a 'Twilight' plot, but apart from that, there is very little wrong with this film. Sure it doesn't match up to those 70s-80s Ex-Yugoslavian comedies, but it is the most visually stunning film to come from Eastern Europe excluding 'Bela Tarr'.
TO CONCLUDE
Powerful and beautiful. Another reason why 1994 is considered the best year in film history.
SCORE
77
No comments:
Post a Comment