I think it would no longer be correct to call Jānis Skuteli only a comedian. In recent years, he has been in several Latvian films, where he played not only comic roles, but also dramatic characters. Above all, thanks must be given to the director Matīs Kaž for his path to the acting profession, who regularly includes him in the cast of his films. For a couple of seasons, Alvis Hermanis Skuteli has also been included in the cast of the New Riga Theater.
With an actor’s contract in the theater, where many professional Latvian actors would dream of getting to, Skutelis does not stop. He continues to try himself in ever new roles, and this time it happened as the author of the script in the mini-series «Pilna postkaste».
To be fair, we must admit that the form of the series is only a matter of choice of the authors or financiers, since the total length of the four series is not too long in the length of a film. An author with experience in small screen content – Una Rozenbaum – has started directing the series. Her style is characterized by color, attempts to work in the light genre and stylistic efforts to copy Wes Anderson’s popular handwriting. She has produced the multi-part film “Stay Negative”, as well as several TV shows, such as the attractive exercise program “Dienaszagļi maitas rosme”.
The team of creators, both behind the scenes and on the screen, is respectable. Mistrus Media, one of the strongest film and series studios in Latvia, participated in the production. They regularly release quite noteworthy Latvian films, the most recent and highly rated of which is “Janvāris” by Viestura Kairis. They have created the popular «Emilija. Queen of the Latvian press». The cast includes the author of the script Skutelis, Baiba Broka, Anta Aizupe, Raimonds Celms, Imants Strads, Įrts Krūmiņš and bright actors of the younger generation.
“Pilna postkaste” tells about a hipster guy from Riga, Adam, who is running away from the capital in a red retro Volvo. Adams Rieksts is a radio personality who explodes live with a rich avalanche of swear words, drawing a line on his career so far. He stops in a small town where everything and everyone is a bit funny.
The owner of the muffin bakery, played by Antas Aizupes, immediately attracts Adam’s attention. Together, they catch an escaped chicken, and their love for each other will only grow, despite the fact that only people who have lost their taste after covid can eat the cupcakes she bakes. Adams learns from the character played by Aizupes, Skutelės, that there is a vacancy at the post office right next door, because the long-time previous postman has lost his mind and tends to throw letters into bird cages. Adam is immediately accepted and becomes a postman in the small post office, where every employee is also a unique individual. In the further course of the series, in parallel with Adam’s sympathy for the muffin seller, he is also drawn into the struggle for the existence of the post office. One of the two post offices in neighboring villages will have to be closed. Thus begins the battle for who will remain. It will be found out with completely unconventional methods.
Comedy show or TV series?
Self-irony is a sign of a healthy culture. It is clear that Latvian society lacks healthy self-irony. Perhaps exemplifying the British ability to laugh at their own foibles and idiosyncrasies is a lofty goal. It is, however, a culture of sarcasm that has been cultivated for centuries. It is better to be inspired by the geographically much closer Finns. For decades, in their movies, be it comedies or dramas, Finns know how to smile or laugh at themselves and others’ stereotypes about them. In that sense, the “Pilna postkaste” team is aiming in the right direction, because the peculiarities of Latvia’s regions are kept on the grain of humor.
It’s true, the characters of the series seem to each play some kind of comical feature rather than real people. The only one who stands out is Anta Aizupe, whose character, in contrast to all the others, seems like a living being, not a walking hero of an anecdote.
To some extent, it could already have its roots in the script that Jānis Skutelis has written together with Reina Pizikas. I have no doubt that Skutel has rich experience in writing humorous content, but write stand-up comedy is a bit different than making a movie or series.
The story of “Full Mailbox”, even though it is short, does not seem to go forward, because each scene is like a self-contained humor etude. Although the characters and setting remain the same, it feels like every scene is there to play a funny joke and not much thought is given to moving the story forward. Not to mention any possibility of sympathy at all. In that sense, «Pilna postkaste» seems more related to comedy sketch shows, like «Savādi gan» or the genius «Imanta – Babīte», rather than a TV series. This is also signaled by the often used seemingly witty sound effects that sound just like canned laughter. It would be out of place to blame Skutel, because his material regularly contains unexpectedly pleasant wit.
Bigger problems seem to be with how mechanically the director has transferred the entire story to the screen. Despite the tasteful visuals (yes, a Wes Anderson copy, but it looks decent) and an ensemble of great actors, the LMT miniseries has turned into an uncontrolled and even boring mess. Although the episodes are short and the plot rhythm is quite dynamic, it gets boring very quickly. Why? No matter how succinctly and attractively assembled the scenes and their transitions from one to another, however, if the overall story does not move forward in the course of the plot, then it becomes completely boring.
On top of that, the strong ensemble cast doesn’t help either, where all the characters, as I mentioned, are like templates cut out of a comic book. Everyone plays at their own pace, trying to conjure up a witty image as vividly as possible. Each of them is a strong actor individually, but if everyone plays on their own, and not in a united team, then you also get the feeling that “Full Mailbox” is chaotically trying to make jokes at all costs. Thus, on the screen there is a constellation of strange characters, each of whom has almost descended from his own planet. The same applies to the actors of the romantic couple Skuteli and Aizupi, between whom no mutual screen chemistry can be felt.
Colorful cringe
I doubt whether the authors of the series wanted to make fun of people from the regions, but at times I feel that way. Although this, like most things in «Full Mailbox», has probably happened by chance. Making movies and series is not just about creating art, and good taste alone is not enough. The professions of director and screenwriter also require certain technical skills.
In a “full mailbox” none of the above three qualities can be detected. All together create a flavor that young people label with the challenging English word cringe. It is a feeling that arises from awkwardness (both your own and the so-called external shame), which causes not only embarrassment, but even a moment of a little suffering for the participant of the situation. When watching the series, you often get overwhelmed with feelings. Thanks to the colorful visual style, at one point it feels like this one might be more suitable for kids, with all the adults acting like big kids. However, when bright censored lexicon appears, it robs «Pilnai postkastei» of this target audience as well.
Of course, it can be justified by the probably very small budget and the incredibly short filming period – only 10 days. However, I would rather highlight some of the good things instead. One of them is the music of Edgars Mäkens, he is the heart of the band “Gaujarts” and a prolific composer of theater music. The title song created for the series is naively catchy, with a pleasant touch of melancholy. It may turn out to be more long-lived than the series itself.
As a nice non-plot twist, the credits sequence of each episode features two anonymous small-town weirdos sitting on a bench at a bus stop. Their conversations, which are really unrelated to the plot, create more comedy and sense than the series’ confused and undeveloped story. The live presence of Aizupe on the screen is also pleasant, and the warm summer landscapes that remind us that someday maybe the sun will shine here again. Outside of that, «Full Mailbox» is created for a small circle of friends of authors to discuss what they have done in their favorite tavern or apartment party. After watching the series, you don’t want to participate in this party or be part of this supposedly witty community of pseudo-intellectuals.
2023-12-02 09:30:00
#Latvians #joke #Review #domestic #series #Full #mailbox
