I think this is a deeply perspicacious and wonderfully observed drama of the balancing of honour, politics, and the limits of power. The flashback structure adds immeasurably to the film and allows the intrigue and atmosphere of usurpation build and build to quietly harrowing moments of finality and personal realisation. The stony, oppressive walls of the dungeons that play host to both the General, condemned to death for spying for the Soviets, and an array of German officers draw the viewer right in to the fraught nature of Bulgaria's position. The film returns several times to this grim setting throughout the course of the film and this device allows the power and significance of exchanges and relationships to gradually become more evident and gripping.
I was particularly struck by the widescreen filming. I thought it was utilised admirably to convey the measured stately refinement of many indoor scenes. Radev's filming isn't stale or musty or unimaginative. These inside scenes have a crispness and sharpness to them that utterly grabs one's attention. Allied to that, there are the fleeting moments outside drawing-rooms and terse meetings where the visual panache of the camera-work adds an extra invigorating dash of excitement. Moments that linger include a car drive in silence, a train journey that sees the magnificent landscape whirl past the large windows of the carriage in a quietly spellbinding blur of ever-changing beauty, and the recollection by the condemned General of carefree fun-fair rides from a happier time that soar with a simple elation and dreamy wistfulness. Perhaps most extraordinary of all is a scene at a diplomatic reception as Tsar Boris and General Zaimov meet one-on-one, surrounded by Boris' shimmering collection of ornate clocks. The mounting atmosphere of danger and tension is conveyed with a shattering beauty as Boris lovingly starts his clocks one after the other. The intensifying chimes convey more than words could ever achieve.
It is a subtly revealing piece of film-making that only grows as one thinks about it in the days after viewing. Powerful, tragic, beautiful, and possessing an understated appreciation of the personal and political complexities that informed the thinking and outlook of these two men who would both die before Bulgaria emerged from the throes of war. A noble, measured, and deeply compelling piece of film-making. Do see it, if you have the chance. It is rewarding on so many different levels.
I was particularly struck by the widescreen filming. I thought it was utilised admirably to convey the measured stately refinement of many indoor scenes. Radev's filming isn't stale or musty or unimaginative. These inside scenes have a crispness and sharpness to them that utterly grabs one's attention. Allied to that, there are the fleeting moments outside drawing-rooms and terse meetings where the visual panache of the camera-work adds an extra invigorating dash of excitement. Moments that linger include a car drive in silence, a train journey that sees the magnificent landscape whirl past the large windows of the carriage in a quietly spellbinding blur of ever-changing beauty, and the recollection by the condemned General of carefree fun-fair rides from a happier time that soar with a simple elation and dreamy wistfulness. Perhaps most extraordinary of all is a scene at a diplomatic reception as Tsar Boris and General Zaimov meet one-on-one, surrounded by Boris' shimmering collection of ornate clocks. The mounting atmosphere of danger and tension is conveyed with a shattering beauty as Boris lovingly starts his clocks one after the other. The intensifying chimes convey more than words could ever achieve.
It is a subtly revealing piece of film-making that only grows as one thinks about it in the days after viewing. Powerful, tragic, beautiful, and possessing an understated appreciation of the personal and political complexities that informed the thinking and outlook of these two men who would both die before Bulgaria emerged from the throes of war. A noble, measured, and deeply compelling piece of film-making. Do see it, if you have the chance. It is rewarding on so many different levels.
