The Great Water/I am David
The Great Water (Golemata voda)
The Great Water is a Macedonian/Czech production set in 1945, right after the end of WWII. The main character, Lem, is taken to an orphanage (what he accurately calls a dungeon) for the children of those who had been opposed to the Communist regime. When another child, named Isask, arrives, the prison attendents said the monks had referred to him as a "devil's seed", but Lem seeks his friendship, and eventually earns it, only in the end to betray him.
The theme of the film seems to be that of freedom and faith versus compulsion, of religious faith versus ideological faith. These themes are not well-developed, though, or rather there are wrapped in a cinematic style that is mystical, poetic, and a bit obscure- I suspect there is something especially Macedonian about the film, a cultural barrier which prevents me from understanding what a native of the country would not need explanation.
I had difficulty following the plot. It's not clear, for example, whether Isak is practicing some occult art, or whether he is an Orthodox Christian. There are some disturbing scenes which involve the electrocution of a cat, and then its revival by what appears to be the sign of the cross, but what feels like an occult ritual. It's kind of creepy.
There is a beautiful young actress in the film named Verica Nedeska, but unfortunately her beauty is obscured by the psychologically unstable character she plays, Komrade Olivera.
I am David
By contrast, I am David, feels very mainstream and American. It's the story of a child who has known nothing but life in a Bulgarian prison camp, but makes his way through Italy, trying to get to Denmark. However, the boy doesn't look Bulgarian, and he certainly doesn't sound Bulgarian, and the fact that the film cheats us by arguing that the Bulgarian boy can understand Italian because he was exposed to prisoners who spoke other languages in the camp means that this film, based on a novel by Anne Holm, is intended for an American/UK market. It is also said of the character that he is a very special boy, and while the actor who plays him is not bad, there doesn't seem to me to be anything special about him, he seems more like just a very serious and polite English boy who been's roughed up a bit in the past.
I would have preferred some of the I am David's clarity of plot, with The Great Water's poetry and realism.
The Great Water is a Macedonian/Czech production set in 1945, right after the end of WWII. The main character, Lem, is taken to an orphanage (what he accurately calls a dungeon) for the children of those who had been opposed to the Communist regime. When another child, named Isask, arrives, the prison attendents said the monks had referred to him as a "devil's seed", but Lem seeks his friendship, and eventually earns it, only in the end to betray him.
The theme of the film seems to be that of freedom and faith versus compulsion, of religious faith versus ideological faith. These themes are not well-developed, though, or rather there are wrapped in a cinematic style that is mystical, poetic, and a bit obscure- I suspect there is something especially Macedonian about the film, a cultural barrier which prevents me from understanding what a native of the country would not need explanation.
I had difficulty following the plot. It's not clear, for example, whether Isak is practicing some occult art, or whether he is an Orthodox Christian. There are some disturbing scenes which involve the electrocution of a cat, and then its revival by what appears to be the sign of the cross, but what feels like an occult ritual. It's kind of creepy.
There is a beautiful young actress in the film named Verica Nedeska, but unfortunately her beauty is obscured by the psychologically unstable character she plays, Komrade Olivera.
I am David
By contrast, I am David, feels very mainstream and American. It's the story of a child who has known nothing but life in a Bulgarian prison camp, but makes his way through Italy, trying to get to Denmark. However, the boy doesn't look Bulgarian, and he certainly doesn't sound Bulgarian, and the fact that the film cheats us by arguing that the Bulgarian boy can understand Italian because he was exposed to prisoners who spoke other languages in the camp means that this film, based on a novel by Anne Holm, is intended for an American/UK market. It is also said of the character that he is a very special boy, and while the actor who plays him is not bad, there doesn't seem to me to be anything special about him, he seems more like just a very serious and polite English boy who been's roughed up a bit in the past.
I would have preferred some of the I am David's clarity of plot, with The Great Water's poetry and realism.
posted by Amateur Film Critic at 10:54 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home