Although this movie is full of funny moments, it is NOT a comedy, but drama. The story is based on real historical events. The historical time frame is when Bulgaria was still under Turkish occupation and there were some brave Bulgarians who were fighting against Turkish invaders with the purpose to liberate Bulgarian nation. A Bulgarian revolutionary man named Dimitar Obshti make a plan to rob the Turkish government money during its transportation and use this money to support the revolution. The real story is a tragic story, because in the end, all men involved in the robbery had been caught, the leader Dimitar Obshti was tortured and killed by the Turkish government, and many other Bulgarian revolutionists were uncovered and liquidated.
OK, this movie is based on this real story but it's not strictly about what historically happened...
Heights has double meaning here...heights are the higher point of the mountain where the revolutionists front their death...but also the highest heights that someone can achieve...
Ordinary people's heights are commonly too shallow, because common people are selfish, greedy, cowardly, inconsistent...The "revolution" seems like a funny game for this group of outlaws men, but when the game become boring, difficult and bitter, we will see who of these revolutionists will remain in his highest heights and who will fail... Can we call a hero the man who risk his life to save his friend, but betray the rest of the team? Can we call a hero the man who risk his life to supply money for the revolution and liberation of his nation, but the same man betray the revolution's leader?...
In this movie we will see who is the real hero, the most uncommon revolutionist, the unknown simple man, who the history will not remember and the nation will not give an appreciation...
Watch this movie! All the time you will laugh till tears, but in the end you will find out, that your tears convert to real ones...
11 Reviews
Based on real historical events and it's NOT a comedy!
ewan-913-35018114 January 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Ask ve Ceza/1001 Nights
lachezarmatneshliev13 October 2022
Heights from as memorable the beginning of the successful this remains one of the most satisfying films. Screen adventure, hardhitting, fearless, imperturbable, girl loving main characters is an entertaining piece of action, are modest highlights the sea. Perfect screenplay, editors, writers cast and crew and designers creates and marvelous perfomance acting play. Believer of meaningful work with the power to challenge, entertain and performance get ready. Unmistakably the view beyond your painter an ever changing masterpiece the ancient trees that fill your view. The city that has have a world class food scene, plenty of smart hotels, friendly locals and intriguing history. From classic city break destinations to smaller, quieter places striving todeliviring famous peace and the third wish of Aladin freedom.
One of the greatest single scenes in bulgarian cinematography
myvallli2 May 2021
The scene with in the middle of the film, you can say which one it is, is just great made. Maybe it could've been easy more... but whatever.
Otherwise the movie is well shot, good costumes, good acting on a stable level, in the worst case, just ok. I won't say anything about the directing nor the script, because I find it little disturbing that the script was so light taken and the directing didn't try it's best to fix that little but not so fatal miss.
Oh, and the last around 10-15 minutes lose the good made atmosphere, because it is too messy made and chaotically chopped. You expect the climax and its follow up to be more engaging, not wondering you around the space, just staring at the characters and objects.
Otherwise the movie is well shot, good costumes, good acting on a stable level, in the worst case, just ok. I won't say anything about the directing nor the script, because I find it little disturbing that the script was so light taken and the directing didn't try it's best to fix that little but not so fatal miss.
Oh, and the last around 10-15 minutes lose the good made atmosphere, because it is too messy made and chaotically chopped. You expect the climax and its follow up to be more engaging, not wondering you around the space, just staring at the characters and objects.
Great movie for people who do not expect light-hearted only stories
vilig7 May 2018
The movie is based on true events from the Bulgarian history happened in the last (out of nearly 500) years under Turkish occupation. A movement to liberate Bulgaria was organized by a handful of daring and brave men. The movie presents these extremely dramatic times, when many people found their death fighting for freedom, in an unexpected and nontrivial way. The accent is on the simple man more than on the events in general. Congratulations to the entire team behind the movie! Great job! Good quality of picture and sound, amazing actor play, and great sense of humor, but it is NOT a comedy.
AMAZING
nikkibg3 January 2018
I love the way this movie made me feel! I don't understand much about voice and sound or genre characteristics, but I do know when I see a great movie! Drama, Comedy, History, Satire etc..It is everything. Great job everyone! One of the best Bulgarian movies I have seen !!! Keep on making such amazing movies and I will always be there to see them.
The title is so wrong
Fibrax17 March 2019
Cannot be Heights, the bulgarian word is SINGULAR and is translated to english PLURAL.
Correct translation will be Ascension, Eminence e.t.c
Professional bulgarian translators tend to translate incorrect almost everything.
I have seen many examples of movie titles that are translated from english to slavic languages (very close to bulgarian) and all translatios have the same title exept bulgarian.
Correct translation will be Ascension, Eminence e.t.c
Professional bulgarian translators tend to translate incorrect almost everything.
I have seen many examples of movie titles that are translated from english to slavic languages (very close to bulgarian) and all translatios have the same title exept bulgarian.
Breathtaking Bulgaria - the new masterpiece of Bulgarian cinema
BoshArrow4 March 2019
Drama, satire, action and breathtaking Bulgarian landscapes - "Heights" is surely one of the best Bulgarian movies in recent years. You will laugh, but you will also cry - you will have the opportunity to explore different dimensions of Bulgarian society in the years before 1878. If you are interested in Bulgarian history, "Heights" might be the best and most interesting option. Plot, soundtrack, characters - everything is on a very high level. It is great to see so many young Bulgarian actors in this movie - Bulgarian cinema has a bright future. Enjoy the views, the mountains, the funny dialogues and the touching score. 10/10 for "Heights" - new masterpiece of Bulgarian cinema.
Great movie!
katzarovi3 March 2019
Hard to define
whotheff12 November 2017
It starts philosophically, then switches to light hearth-ed comedy then to history, then satire... It's very hard to define what this movie is. The language used (old Bulgarian) has nothing to do with the language they use these days. It is a mix of both, probably not to burden the viewers too much (but sometimes sounds unnatural and fake).
Voice and sound FX are very good (which is a rare trait for Bulgarian movies), music is decent, but at the same time vaguely used and way louder than the rest of the sound. It is not used properly to emphasize the tense moments, but only to underline heroic and proud moments. Basically, the whole movie is quiet while the main characters narrate through it. The pace is very slow and lacking dynamics. The movie can be 30 minutes shorter easily.
The story is actually a satire. Everything else is enveloped around it. The horrible, simple minded "fun" the rest of the viewers were laughing at, has a nice double meaning. It is revealed later in the movie. It also made me twist my empathy away and towards the filmmakers and the main characters, several times. It is also a story of emotions, which are tracked thoroughly. Acting was okay, but you could easily tell which actors are experienced and which are not.
What I like the most was the scenery and visuals. The director of photography did very good job. Nature shots are great, aerial footage, which is not that expensive nowadays, also brings a lot to the visual variety. Strangely, some of the shots are overexposed.
Final scene was emotional and strong. At the same time - too over-stressed and way-way prolonged. The overemphasized tragedy was misunderstood and many people started laughing at it in the theater. You can tell the film makers put a huge amount of effort to tell the story, but sometimes there are scenes which contribute nothing to the movie. Instead, important scenes and secondary ones have the same screen time. Shortening the movie by 30 min, using better combat shots (sorry, American movies set the bar high). Better use of the music and more of it would bring it to another (higher) level. After I exited the movie theater, my mind was still working on it. After all, it provoked me a lot with a many different feelings, piling up on top of each other with each minute before the end.
Voice and sound FX are very good (which is a rare trait for Bulgarian movies), music is decent, but at the same time vaguely used and way louder than the rest of the sound. It is not used properly to emphasize the tense moments, but only to underline heroic and proud moments. Basically, the whole movie is quiet while the main characters narrate through it. The pace is very slow and lacking dynamics. The movie can be 30 minutes shorter easily.
The story is actually a satire. Everything else is enveloped around it. The horrible, simple minded "fun" the rest of the viewers were laughing at, has a nice double meaning. It is revealed later in the movie. It also made me twist my empathy away and towards the filmmakers and the main characters, several times. It is also a story of emotions, which are tracked thoroughly. Acting was okay, but you could easily tell which actors are experienced and which are not.
What I like the most was the scenery and visuals. The director of photography did very good job. Nature shots are great, aerial footage, which is not that expensive nowadays, also brings a lot to the visual variety. Strangely, some of the shots are overexposed.
Final scene was emotional and strong. At the same time - too over-stressed and way-way prolonged. The overemphasized tragedy was misunderstood and many people started laughing at it in the theater. You can tell the film makers put a huge amount of effort to tell the story, but sometimes there are scenes which contribute nothing to the movie. Instead, important scenes and secondary ones have the same screen time. Shortening the movie by 30 min, using better combat shots (sorry, American movies set the bar high). Better use of the music and more of it would bring it to another (higher) level. After I exited the movie theater, my mind was still working on it. After all, it provoked me a lot with a many different feelings, piling up on top of each other with each minute before the end.
Rough Diamond - Needs Cutting and Polishing
bobbygmt10 December 2017
This film doesn't know what it wants to be - it lurches between comedy, satire and moments of elegiac drama. It needs about 30 minutes expunging and the storytelling would be more coherent and impactful.
There are some well defined characters and a few that make little useful contribution, but the acting was mostly theatrical, if not bombastic at times. I believe the story would have benefited had the emphasis been placed more on the dramatic and self-sacrificial nature of the events portrayed. The cinematography stands out, as well as the music, but I couldn't help being reminded of The Revenant in respect of both.
IMHO, the English title should be Elevation - there is a scene in which a captured revolutionary is being carted along the street and the camera rests on a plaque outside the school wall where we see the word "Vuzvishenie" deployed to mean the kind of elevation only education brings. This theme wove a thread throughout the whole film.
There are some well defined characters and a few that make little useful contribution, but the acting was mostly theatrical, if not bombastic at times. I believe the story would have benefited had the emphasis been placed more on the dramatic and self-sacrificial nature of the events portrayed. The cinematography stands out, as well as the music, but I couldn't help being reminded of The Revenant in respect of both.
IMHO, the English title should be Elevation - there is a scene in which a captured revolutionary is being carted along the street and the camera rests on a plaque outside the school wall where we see the word "Vuzvishenie" deployed to mean the kind of elevation only education brings. This theme wove a thread throughout the whole film.
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