Avé

A film by Konstantin Bojanov that looks and feels like the work of an accomplished director, but is only his second film. I don't think will see his first film, a documentary called Invisible-This Is Your Life on Heroin as tells the story of six heroin addicts, but surely I want to see more from him.

A typical road movie that uses the many times visited film structure; but Bojanov uses it like if it was his own with a fresh unusual story that engages us slowly, very slowly while telling the story of a young man, Kamen, travelling to his best friend funeral and a young woman, Avé, who seems to be a lost soul travelling the roads but that later we learn that she is not and indeed, she's far from being one. You can predict that they are heading into falling for each other and they do, but I believe that's about all you can predict in this movie as how and why the fall for each other is unpredictable. But you have to see movie to learn what story is really all about as will not tell you more.

I'm sure that because the story co written by Bojanov uses his life experiences, becomes very credible and easily you get inside, like the third person in the story, the voyeur that see everything but is invisible. Also no doubt that his nomad life, he has traveled all over the world, allowed him to so successfully and very credible use the road movie genre. But what marveled me is his impressive use of light and color palettes. When Kamen and Avé meet and for a long while he uses cold colors palette that as his characters start to open to themselves and to each other, the palette changes to warmer tones. He tells his story with words, with images, with silences but most of all with colors. This is impressive.

We know that road movies commonly are used as metaphors of life and this is no exception as what we see in the screen with two strangers meeting, travelling together, fantasizing to avoid accepting/telling truth, opening, tell truth, fall for each other and discovering/accepting each other as they are or will be from now on, is a great tale that represents life as it is in its very raw way with not much melodrama or drama, just like it happens in real life. All these plus director's ability as a visual storyteller makes movie must be seen for many that enjoy great European cinema.

Performances are incredibly good for actors that do not have that much experience, as for Anjela Nedyalkova (Avé) this is her second film while for Ovanes Torosian (Kamen) this was his third film, noteworthy is to note that both worked in Kamen Kalev's Eastern Plays. To complete the picture will share that film as a film has above average production values, was premiered in 2011 Cannes at the Semaine de la Critique and got awards as well as honors while traveling the fest circuit.

Last, I believe that film has all the right credentials to be the 2012 Bulgaria submission to Oscar, let's hope whoever selects the film in that country, will chose wisely and send this film.

Enjoy!!!

Wattch trailer @MOC