Having just left the theater, I must say the movie was a healthy cocktail of both sophisticated and sometimes lighthearted humor, 90s visual aesthetics (movie's color schemes and filters resembled those of early 90s analog TV and early color photos from late 80s and early 90s) and relatable "coming-of-age" story (loosely based on Rimantas Kmita's book of the same title) that occurred during the nostalgic era of 90s. Most of us (who watched the movie in the theater) were either kids or young adults during the 90s, so we all have deep and fond (or not so fond) memories of the era. Music was selected by Saulius Urbanavicius (lead vocalist of legendary band from Siauliai "Bix"), and I would say he did a really great job. Integrating historic authentic footage of both Bix and Foje concert footage (from 90s) added so much to the immersiveness of the movie, too.
Main actors (Dziugas Grinys and Robertas Petraitis) were completely phenomenal: not only were they totally charismatic but also conveyed deep emotions and were not some typical caricatures of street hooligan prototype but really believable. The only tricky part was that the main protagonist of the movie (Rimants) was portrayed by a very mature-looking, rugged and manly actor (Dziugas Grinys) that looked a bit out of place in the high school classroom setting (his portrayed character was supposedly like 16-18 years old): I was guessing real actor's age was something like 30, my wife guessed he was 35, and our friends guessed he was 40. Turns out he was 25-26 during filming.
The story is told from the main protagonist's perspective. His low-voiced, almost calming narration (told in a unique dialect of Siauliai) brings the story into action. Actually, the movie has many parallels with "Forrest Gump" but in a good way: here we have a protagonist who, despite his physical prowess and good achievements in Rugby (a niche sport in Lithuania), finds it hard to find his own identity, love and destiny. Outside events shape his personality and fate. This dependence on unpredictability of life is summed up in Rimant's conclusion: "Life is a moron. Sometimes he just comes close to you and smashes a fist into your teeth".
Unstoppable randomness of life despite best efforts and quest to recognize real things from fake things are probably the main themes of the movie. In the movie, we encounter his best friend Minde (played by Robertas Petraitis) whose shrewd ideas about making a buck pull them into many adventures. People in this movie are portrayed in realistic, non-perfect fashion. They don't look perfect. They don't behave perfect. Nobody here is a real hero or antihero. People just live their lives as best as they can. Rimants' pursuit of a girlfriend exposes both emotionality of the characters and their natural flaws and even pragmatic human nature (for example, Rimants has a "Girlfriend Plan B" Jurga while dating his "main girlfriend" Monika). Sometimes he actively pursues his goals, but sometimes he just flows according to the stream of life, simply picking what is coming his way. And the viewer is kind of encouraged not to be judgmental of that. Such is life and that's that.
Director of the movie Ignas Miskinis picked the right steady but "pulsing" pacing of the movie. Every sequence was moving in a smart, well-thought-out fashion. There were no boring unnecessary long pauses that are so often found in Lithuanian cinema (especially by older generation of directors). Last but not least, the fashion department just outdid themselves. The haircuts, clothes perfectly depicted wild fashion of the semi-provincial medium-sized town in Lithuania of the years 1993-1995. Here you see male flat tops, short military haircuts, flamboyant big "hairsprayed" female hair, tracksuits, leather jackets, bright colorful clothes and more. Everything about this movie feels natural: setting, acting and story. Highly recommend going to cinema and watching it. A simple joy.
