Upurga

This is one of those completely underrated films that you watch without any expectations and it ends up being a surprise, a good surprise. "Upurga", Latvian for "victim", is a very well-directed thriller. Despite being a simple film, Ugis Olte manages to construct a narrative that combines fable and cinematography in an "almost" great film, as I wrote in the title. It reminds a bit "The Blair Witch Project" or "Under The Skin". In fact, the film has a chain that generates a permanent feeling of continuity until the end and despite having a convincing ending, it seems like it could continue as if it were a series. It is interesting to see the difference in the dramaturgy of a little-known country like Latvia, both in the script, direction and acting, subtly different from the pasteurized cinema of the West but without the idiosyncrasies and corniness of more oriental works such as Korean or Arab ones. It's worth watching.

I really liked the different approach this film took. When filming for a vegetarian sausage ad, members of the group wander into the forest. You get gaps, you don't know what happened at first. There's confusion and tension as you the viewer don't know what happened, or what is going on either.

The local guide is trying to find them and figure out what happened. You get snips of "found footage" but most of the film isn't in this style. The pacing in the 2nd half of the film isn't perfect, but overall I thought it was a really solid horror film. I really enjoyed it.

The location and cinematography is absolutely gorgeous too.

It is set in a forested river area that doesn't show up in many International films. Andrejs is a wilderness guide, and his job is to guide a small group of people who are intending to film for a commercial on a vegetarian sausage. For them the trip is a lark, and they have little interest in safety or the dangers and soon they disappear. However Andrejs is serious about his job, and he tries to find out what happened. And it seems the forest has other ideas. And in this movie the forest really is the star. But it really comes down to whether the viewer cares as much as Andrejs does. There is a strange flower growing in the forest, which may explain some of what is happening.

This Latvian film features a group who plan to film a commercial for vegetarian sausages in a remote river, and surrounding forest, near the Estonian border. The employ Andrejs to be their guide; he is unimpressed by their lack of safety concerns. Red flags should have been seen when they get to the river and are approached by a local who reprimands them and warns them against going into the forest. Things soon start getting strange; Andrejs suddenly finds himself naked in a forest pool. There is no sign of anybody else. He sets off looking for them and meets some strange and unpleasant characters along the way.

I admit that the main reason I watched this film was that I'd not seen a film from Latvia before. I wasn't disappointed. The plot was a little confusing at times but that didn't bother me as it added to the film's atmosphere. The river through a forest setting isn't exactly original; something the makers acknowledge with a reference to 'Deliverance'. That doesn't stop it being effective though. I don't know if it is referencing local folklore but certain elements certainly feel folkloric. The cast is solid enough; the sort one expects in a low budget fare. It is hard to assign this to a particular genre; there are horror elements but no real scares or gore, just a constant sense that something isn't quite right. Overall a decent enough film but not really a must see unless you are curious to see what sort of film Latvians make.

These comments are based on watching the film in Latvian with English subtitles.

Let me start by saying if you are ok with movies where you don't really quite get what happened at the end, then this movie would get a higher rating than I gave it. People in this movie sort of get 'possessed by the forest' for lack of any better way of describing it. A couple of the people that this happens to don't really seem to have any effects beyond just blacking out for a while, but if you go in this certain area of water, you're just messed up. I'm not completely sure what happens at the end...are the characters leaving or are they staying? I've seen worse movies, but I figured this one was going to be really good since it was Latvian and only had subtitles - how many Latvian films do we get to see in America, right? But I was wrong.... I found this mediocre at best.