After cracking open the bundle of Korea films at the 2021 Glasgow Film Festival with the Pop-Rock charm of Da Capo (2020-also reviewed) I decided to take a browse at the non-Korean titles soon to premier. Finding the plot description on the site to sound intriguing,I got set to meet this father and his family.
View on the film:
Striking the audience with the level of shock Nikola experiences from seeing his secure family life suddenly end, co-writer/(with Srdjan Koljevic and Ognjen Svilicic) director Srdan Golubovic returns after a long gap since making Circles (2013)), and is joined by cinematographer Aleksandar Ilic in crafting Nikola's long walk with a magnificent earthy atmosphere.
Extensively shot in real locations, Golubovic makes each step Nikola takes in his hundreds of miles walk to deliver his appeal to overturn a local Govt ruling to the ministry, be one which is felt on screen,thanks to gritty hand-held camera moves rubbing along the rugged,remote terrain Nikola makes it his mission to cross.
Arriving at the government building, Golubovic subtly contrasts the gritty,earthy surroundings and life Nikola is in, with detached, metallic coloured wide-shots of Nikola meeting a government official, shining a light on how disconnected those in power are to the struggles that the likes of Nikola face alone.
Tearing a final shot for the audience that leaves everything open-ended, the writers superbly pair Nikola's Road Movie-style long walk to hope,with a study at the slow, grinding cogs of local Government, with all that Nikola tries to change, being mangled by the mechanical-like response he gets from local official's,who the locals are aware of being corrupt, but who are unable to break them from the rotten to the core chain of command.
Walking with a unshakable passion to be reunited with his family, Goran Bogdan gives a magnificent performance as Nikola,whose long journey Bogdan carries with a gripping expressiveness capturing the painful,unending grind he is in, which is unable to completely crush the love of family held by Nikola.
View on the film:
Striking the audience with the level of shock Nikola experiences from seeing his secure family life suddenly end, co-writer/(with Srdjan Koljevic and Ognjen Svilicic) director Srdan Golubovic returns after a long gap since making Circles (2013)), and is joined by cinematographer Aleksandar Ilic in crafting Nikola's long walk with a magnificent earthy atmosphere.
Extensively shot in real locations, Golubovic makes each step Nikola takes in his hundreds of miles walk to deliver his appeal to overturn a local Govt ruling to the ministry, be one which is felt on screen,thanks to gritty hand-held camera moves rubbing along the rugged,remote terrain Nikola makes it his mission to cross.
Arriving at the government building, Golubovic subtly contrasts the gritty,earthy surroundings and life Nikola is in, with detached, metallic coloured wide-shots of Nikola meeting a government official, shining a light on how disconnected those in power are to the struggles that the likes of Nikola face alone.
Tearing a final shot for the audience that leaves everything open-ended, the writers superbly pair Nikola's Road Movie-style long walk to hope,with a study at the slow, grinding cogs of local Government, with all that Nikola tries to change, being mangled by the mechanical-like response he gets from local official's,who the locals are aware of being corrupt, but who are unable to break them from the rotten to the core chain of command.
Walking with a unshakable passion to be reunited with his family, Goran Bogdan gives a magnificent performance as Nikola,whose long journey Bogdan carries with a gripping expressiveness capturing the painful,unending grind he is in, which is unable to completely crush the love of family held by Nikola.