“Only a young person can create such a film” – the first Latvian western begins its journey to the audience / Article

On the evening of October 6, the first Latvian western or “istern” premiered – the feature film “Wild East. Where will the road lead? ” It features humor, chasing, dramatic shooting, self-irony and playing with the historical American cinema genre.

The cinema “Splendid Palace” gathers premiere guests in cowboy hats, because for the first time in Latvia a western or, as it is called director Matīs Kaža, a “western or potato western” with chasing and shooting for German-era barons, natives with the count until a Latvian peasant guy is involved in the adventures. And all this is further complicated by magic tricks masters and a Russian investigator. The film takes place in the second half of the 19th century.

If we did it in the absolute seriousness of The Chronicles of Melania, then you can imagine what it would be! My attitude towards this genre is like this – now there will be cowboys in Latvia, let’s see what will happen? Ironically speaking, ”explains Matīss Kaža, noting also:“ My biggest caveat is that the actors can beat in this film, there you can feel in some episodes that they themselves are happy. ”

This is the first feature film of the young film director Matīsa Kaža. He studied goat directing in the USA, grew up in a family of filmmakers, participating from the childhood and helping his mother in the shooting range, director Una Celma, whose father worked as the second director of the film “Servants of Vella”.

“At first he wanted to be an operator, but then he said that the camera was too heavy. And the only thing that does nothing in the reception area is the director, he sits and commands everyone, ”says Una Celma. She describes her son’s cinema language as free: “With such a fairly free flow of thoughts that is not typical of Latvian cinema, we always have something – we want to say something definite, push it into frames, design it all and give the final result. He is more open. “

The cinematographer of the film Aleksandrs Grebņevs and the artist Jurģis Krāsons have been looking for a visual solution typical of Westerns.

“An ensemble has power when we all get together and see one thing in the same way, it’s cinema.

Today was such a moment, I had the pleasure of being in a full, crowded cinema, it is the greatest pleasure, ”notes Aleksandrs Grebņevs.

The main role of the film is the debut of actors Sandra Kļaviņa and Kaspars Zvīgulis’ daughter Žanete Zvīgule. Sharing emotions on the evening of the premiere, she says about working on the film: “Very difficult, very unusual, of course, the first role – something completely, completely new! Smile on my face, I feel very satisfied! ”

The movie has already received six nominations for the national film award “Big Kristaps”. The award commission praised the work of both cameraman Aleksandrs Grebņevs and artist Jurģis Krāsons. Nominations were also given to the film’s costume designer Līga Krāsone and make-up artist Dzintra Bijubena, as well as the actors in the background Agnese Budovska and Vilis Daudiņš.

“It simply came to our notice then.

Such crazy, crazy taking, joking, ”says Vilis Dodiņš. “I really liked it, it’s grotesque, it’s outside of me, it’s such a very serious task – to create a really image, not just to dress up in the clothes of the era and react as usual -” I in the given circumstances “. Here is the image, and I seem to have managed it consistently from start to finish. I’m glad about that! ”

Due to the expressive profile, even the documentary film screenwriter and director Tālivaldis Margēvičs has taken on the role of a Baltic German baron, who emphasizes: Because we have more classical aesthetics in sets and more so more seriously, but this openness allows us to develop, it’s something completely different… Another thing is how everything works out there, but this attempt was welcome! ”

The film has been appreciated by the first viewers, including film critic Daira Āboliņa, who says about the work:

The fact that they have been extremely passionate, and the fact that they themselves have taken pleasure in making this film, is very visible on the screen.

To paraphrase the classic American genre, there must at least be extremely brave, and they are! The question is how well Latvian viewers know Western mythology? The fact that Matīss Kaža knows this genre better is obvious, sometimes he doesn’t tell everything to a person who doesn’t manage this genre like a song… To paraphrase it into Latvian material, the idea is just great! We will see how the Latvian audience will perceive it! ”

Premieres and meetings with the creative team are also planned in other cinemas.

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