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Bulgarian director Kamen Kalev makes impressive debut with ‘Eastern Plays’
The film is opened by Georgi (Ovanes Torosian), an unemployed disenchanted youth living with his aging father and stepmother on the outskirts of Sofia. This apartment compound is more than the architectural remains of a communist past; it is now a dreary living space for a community trying to survive in a new kind of poverty and despair brought by the new order. Georgi might be a good kid at heart, but his directionless ways eventually throw him into the arms of a neo-Nazi group led by a man who calls himself Fish (Chavdar Sokolov).
On a parallel note comes the story of Itso (Christov) another young man of a different but similar state of detachment. Itso works as a carpenter though he studied art, he has a few friends, his breakfast is composed of beer and he treats his girlfriend, Niki, as if she does not even exist. Not someone who the audience will immediately adopt, Itso still has a certain charm of nonchalance and a bittersweet smile.
One night when Georgi and his crew attack a visiting Turkish family, it is the stoic Itso who comes to the rescue. Only then do we understand that these two men who have never been seen together before are two brothers that have grown apart.
 Bulgarian director Kalev’s camera is raw yet loving, creating a world of assured intimacy through characters who we slowly relate to. Though the film’s subject matter sounds as bleak as a rainy day, Kalev brings the right kind of bittersweet tone meshed with a truthful and satisfying examination of the two brothers and the city that they live in |
Itso does not tell his parents of Georgi’s new alliance and inclination for violence, but this event surprisingly becomes an opportunity for the two brothers to reconnect as Itso questions his brother and, despite all, reminds him of the difference between good and bad. A brilliantly restrained yet emotional conversation plays out as the two brothers stand on the edge of the valley overlooking their neighborhood on a hazy afternoon.
 Saadet Aksoy shines in Kamen Kalev’s ‘Eastern Plays’ |
But it is Itso’s new friendship with Işıl (our own lovely Saadet Işıl Aksoy), the bright daughter of the Turkish family, that might put an end to his nihilistic ways. Sometimes the comfort of strangers can be the turning point in one’s life. Itso finds in Işıl a kindred spirit who he can really talk to and unintentionally she becomes a helping hand while he tries to break his outer shell. Slowly but surely, we see the real face of Itso, a young man who is struggling to retrieve his humanity and form a genuine connection to life; he desperately tells the hospital shrink, “I have the strength to get up, but I don’t know if there is anything to hold on to.” Thus “Eastern Plays” becomes the story of Itso and his inner struggle to overcome his general alienation and the suffocating entrapment he has created for himself.
Director Kalev’s camera is raw yet loving, creating a world of assured intimacy through characters who we slowly relate to. Though the film’s subject matter sounds as bleak as a rainy day, Kalev brings the right kind of bittersweet tone meshed with a truthful and satisfying examination of the two brothers and the city that they live in.
Christov and Aksoy display remarkable performances supported by a rare chemistry that is hard to find: this is something that is beyond romantic; it is the wonderful salute of two human beings who are not afraid to look into each other’s eyes. Unfortunately, Christov passed away before the completion of the film, so Kalev has dedicated the film to his dear friend.
Where less is more, “Eastern Plays” becomes the epitome of the right kind of simplicity where the surface is only a gateway in showing the depth of all its characters. It is the small details that make this film so grand. Such is the beauty of cinema -- sometimes with just one expression, one smile, all is said that needs to be said. Surely, a bright cinematic future awaits director Kalev.
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