Under these conditions, when the much-called autumn marathon of Latvian films has hit us so profusely with regular Latvian film news in cinemas, it is important to keep a few useful senses running. First of all, a good memory, so as not to forget about other movies in the news feed that have only recently premiered and should also be seen. Secondly, the pedantic attention to finding rare projections in movie posters and adapting your daily running programs to them, taking into account the fact that in the life of such an intense repertoire, some elements can disappear from the screens more quickly. Therefore, this time a reminder of two Latvian films that premiered in early October and can still be seen in theaters.
It is interesting that the kaleidoscope of the repertoire mentioned in the previous reviews has in this case put together two films in which the earth, the waters, the winds, the natural cycles and the forces play an important role, but it is surprising to see how different states of soul may be hidden behind the usual wording “Latvian nature”.
Upurga
Chronologically, the first feature film by expert documentary maker Uģas Oltes made it to the public first Upurga, labeled by the authors themselves as a “mythological thriller in nature”. The atmosphere of the applied genre is immediately felt: even before the opening credits of the film, the ferns grow rapidly in a frightening foreground, folding like menacing living beings; almost everything looks scary in this dank gray autumn forest, you can’t even cut a rusty ax into a stone.
It should be noted that Upurga is one of the few films where aerial shots of a drone are truly intentional and necessary, and not just for the sake of beauty, and even in them simple treetops in an overhead view evoke associations with threats hidden in mystical buds. It must be admitted that the greatest merits in creating the feelings of a mythological thriller are precisely the finely cultivated visual aesthetics of the film (cinematographer Valdis Celminņš, artist Jānis Kalniņš), which always keeps the viewer in suspense with colors. or unexpected lights contrasts: a bright orange jacket in a monotonous dark forest, dirty red boots in the foam of the river, a metallic cloth dress in a sudden flash of light … And the big screen of the cinema in this case is an absolutely necessary tool to enjoy the maximum impression!
This world is full of mysterious secondary characters, whose actions balance on the verge of absurdity: absolutely wonderful Māra Ķimele as an old man of the forest, Uģis Prauliņš fatally silent as the postman who wandered the world, Andris Akmentiņš as a small fisherman, local thugs with unclear motives and a saleswoman named Kārlēns; a dreamy village bar owner and the film director himself as an ironic “cook” … and Norwegian Morten Travik whistles as an energetic sheriff Laibach motif of another film by Uģis Oltes.
It is quite clear that city dwellers who have entered such a microworld are already doomed to at least terrible adventures, if not tragic end. And it is clear that this sad perspective is really only covered by the main character of the film, Andrei, so it is in his face that the viewer reads everything important about difficult trials, mysterious events and insurmountable forces of nature – the choice of the actor. Igor Shelegovski for this role is an infallible success.
Farmers
“It’s a complicated thing: finding a hero for a movie,” says Ivars Seleckis, who has been involved in this complicated business for over fifty years and knows the Latvian people much better and more deeply than anyone else. With his camera, Ivars Seleckis was present at the rural processes of Latvia in all the major turning points in which the conceptual model of rural life has changed, – in the 1970s, farms were recognized as useless and disturbing and sought to transform peasants into citizens, in the 1990s the instincts of the private owner and the owner awakened in them.At the beginning of the 21st century, membership of the European Union opened international ambitions, and today … Maybe we can think with optimism that everything is for the best and for the best, because documentaries Farmers the atmosphere is extremely harmonious; Ivars Seleckis, with his naturally favorable attitude towards Latvian peasants and humanity in general, may not be able to find or film any negative, pathetic or evil characters. Sometimes life makes the characters in your films sad, confused or resigned, but this already belongs to life and everyone takes it with respect: both the creators of the film, who are visible on the screen, and those who feel behind the scenes.
One of the heroes of this film is definitely time, especially when judging farmers, take a step back with some distance and leave a view of Ivar Selecki’s previous “peasant films” (this can easily be done on the portal filmas.lvwhere you can watch documentaries for free Districts (1973), Come down, pale moon! (1994) and Under the thick branches of the oak (2007)). The time is poignantly illustrated by the combination of archival footage and footage from today at the beginning of the film (Ivars himself in the car’s cockpit on his way to shoot “somewhere in the country”), as well as footage purely documentary, but symbolic today – in a frame with storks, without which Ivar Selecki’s films are unimaginable, an equally white drone flutters, an obvious work tool for a modern rural farmer. “In the past, to film from above, I hung up, tied to the helicopter,” says Ivars Seleckis in the background. “Archaic, but adventurous.”
Today is such a time when only those who really want to be in the countryside, someone says of the film Farmers heroes. It goes without saying that Ivars Seleckis also does not lose his true interest in the countryside, feeling equal respect for those who bring their grain crop into a trailer or who are so old-fashioned attached to their one goth, as well as those who manage hundreds of hectares or, on the contrary, “I don’t want to grow” and we immediately dedicate ourselves to the family business. By the way, I think this is exactly why life offers director Ivars Seleckis and cameraman Valdis Celmiņas such wonderful shots and situations as the “reaper’s waltz”, which everyone who has seen the film already talks about. Because you feel like true documentarians and a creative spirit that does not run out.
