A whirlwind of war horrors – Berlin-awarded film “In the Natural Light” / Article

The film has already received very high acclaim this year – received the “Silver Bear” at the Berlin Film Festival for the best direction. It is also included in the main show of the competition at the Riga International Festival, and it will be shown online on October 22.

“In Natural Light” is a feature film debut by Hungarian director Dénis Naags, inspired by the novel of his compatriot Pál Zāvada. The film takes place during World War II, and its main character is István, a Hungarian farmer who was forcibly dragged by the war into his whirlpool of horror. The operation covers three days when Hungarian soldiers, as allies of the German army, stay in a part of Russia to destroy local guerrillas.

A very important player in the film is the natural landscape, which is mainly filmed in Latvia, on the Latgale side – says co-producer from Latvia Inese Boka-Grūbe: “The film producer and director chose to cooperate with us, because they thought It must also be said that in Hungary there are no natural sights, forest massifs and swamps like ours. We chose several locations near the Gauja, Latgale, Pasiene, near Rezekne.

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In addition to professionals, a lot of non-professional actors take part in Dēnesis Naģis’ film, and some of them are also people of Latgale, who can be seen both in mass scenes and in small roles.

“The collaboration on this project was not limited to filming, we also have a Latvian composer who has written music for this film, and it is Santa Ratniece. Director Dēnešs Naģs knew from the very beginning that he wanted to work directly with Santa, because Santa’s music is very close to him.In my opinion, the collaboration turned out to be very fruitful and constructive.Although the music track in the film is so minimalist, but the singers from the Latvian Radio Choir recorded their voices, I think the end result is extremely beautiful and complements the landscape and the film’s story. strong, “comments Boka-Grūbe.

Like the landscape, the soundtrack plays a very important role in the film: soldiers roar in mud and swamps, and this visuality is so strong that at times it seems that the viewer begins to feel it with his senses, feeling the wet forest aroma and constant tension even in soldiers. if only the silence of the swampy forest is all around.

Film critic Dārta Ceriņa calls the effect of Dēnis Naģis’ direction very convincing: “The film was shot in the older aesthetics of Alexei Germans. The muddy, rough texture is transferred to conditions where it is impossible to get complete freedom of choice. The main character, István, has to cooperate, he becomes a collaborator, but he does not really understand how to act, whether he has to follow orders only, or he has the opportunity to resist. in the abstract territory of the Soviet Union, focusing more on human choices and the extent to which the internal resistance of each individual is perhaps even sometimes impossible. “

The Riga International Film Festival will screen the feature film of the month Naģis in “Natural Light” on October 22. The film is included in the screening of the festival competition, for which a total of nine films from different countries with a bright cinematic language have been selected.

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