АЙКА (AYKA)
Recommended. Harrowing. An illegal migrant on the run from a gang she owes money to leaves her newborn and roams the streets of Moscow though bleeding from her abdomen. What is happening to her is just unhuman. The cold and snow drifts reflect the cold of the people in the city and barriers at each step of her road. The glimpses of the rich only rub her nose in it. The scenes with bitches at the vet get stronger and heart breaking as you realize dogs get better treatment than she does. When you think life can't get any worse for any human, the finale proves you wrong. Powerful stuff.
On a separate occasion I talked to "Ayka" cinematographer Jolanta Dylewska who shed more light on the production. Previously she worked with director Agnieszka Holland on "Spoor" ("Pokot") and "W ciemnosci" ("In Darkness") so in different aesthetics. "Ayka" is the Kazakh Oscar candidate though with no money for promotion. It was shot in Moscow in 6 consecutive winters. The city has Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Tajik immigrants but not Kazakh. The lead is a Kazakh actress coached to speak Kyrgyz - she uses expressions natural to the Kyrgyz but her pronunciation, according to the dialect coach, is a bit off. Tomek Matraszek made up the dogs to look injured. The vet was acted by a real vet - director Sergey Dvortsevoy, who earlier made "Tulpan", likes working with non-professional actors. The midwife was also a real life midwife - in the film she acted and consulted on babies. Sergey Dvortsevoy used to make documentaries but shooting them he used to cross boundaries and feared he'd become an evil person. He shot the whole movie chronologically which was convenient for the cinematographer. On the streets of Moscow and in the metro she shot illegally with a hidden camera. The script initially was more complex but the director cut out some, e.g. there would have been more interaction with her flatmates, a scene in a bank but he got rid of whatever dragged. Jolanta Dylewska is going to release her own documentary next year - about Marek Edelman and love in the ghetto.
WARSAW KOREAN FILM FESTIVAL
살아남은 아이 (LAST CHILD)
Recommended. A gripping thriller. The atmosphere's so dense you can cut it with a knife.
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