theromanslayer

There is a scene in the sixth episode of the first season where the character 'Ivo' is explaining to his boss, the seasoned mafia don 'Djaro', the step-by-step procedures of the preparation for a daring heist that is worth millions. The scene is set in a gymnasium hall with large mat in the middle used for martial arts practice. As 'Ivo' is sitting down on a chair just by the mat, 'Djaro' disapprovingly looks at his shoes which are partly resting on it. 'Ivo' duly takes his feet off the mat. Why is this significant, you may ask? Well, it doesn't contribute much to the plot, but what it is, is a nod from the director: 'I know what I'm doing'. The beauty is in the detail and in nearly every scene in Pod Prikritie, there is something which functions to make it memorable, whether it be the camera angle/positioning, the lighting, the set, or a simple gesture by one of the actors. All the while, the brilliant score provides the necessary emotional backdrop against which the characters' sentiments can be played out.

A few of the reviews here take a highly critical approach towards this series, without providing much evidence to justify it. Pod Prikritie deserves so much more than this intellectual myopia. For starters, the acting, with perhaps one single exception, is marvellous. For me personally, the jewel in the crown is Mihail Bilalov who is simply magnificent in the role of 'Djaro' - Pod Prikritie's primary antagonist. Think of him as a more menacing, less humorous version of Jack Nicholson's character 'Frank Costello' from The Departed. From his facial expressions to his body language, he is a master of his role and creates a character who is both believable as a human being and as the emblematic face of Bulgarian mafia.

Pod Prikritie's realism is undisputed, and as much as that is a compliment, it is also ironically the point of contention for most Bulgarians. They know this reality; they see it on a daily basis. So why watch it on TV as well? That said, many of the characters have gathered a cult following, while quite a few of their lines have entered the standard Bulgarian lingo.

Coming back to The Departed, Pod Prikritie has often been compared to Scorsese's Oscar-winning crime feature. In many ways it is better: less stylized and more convincing. It is hardly surprising that so many foreign distributors have expressed a genuine interest in showing it in other countries. No doubt, the universal appeal of the crime genre always helps, but Pod Prikritie is as good a representative of it as any production you can think of, be it on the silver screen or on television.

This is among the most loved of all Bulgarian films because of its realism, sincerity, heartfelt 'no frills' drama, and last but not least, Ivan Ivanov - the lead actor.

As made plain by the title, the film is about love; but love in the sense of its noble savagery, its ability to provide a nuanced perspective on what's noble and what's savage. 'All is Love' is thus a fair summation of exactly what this film accomplishes because of its beautiful exploration of the friction between the social concept of parental care and the individual idea of true love and affection. It is brimming with memorable scenes and the simple but effective dialogue all the more lends it an air of universality as the characters are all sculpted from life to the last detail that makes up their distinct type of humanity. Indeed, perhaps the real artistic merit of the film is contained in the brutally realistic way in which the characters, particularly the protagonist, are portrayed.

Of special note is the last scene - its dramatic atmosphere is different from what one would normally see in a Hollywood film. The tears are subdued, silent with no background score, only the emaciated voice of the female lead. The music gently comes in a bit later, not to make it more dramatic though but to focus us even more on the coldness which painfully sets in the heart of the main character.

The absolute breakdown of a natural rebel's will to rebel.

Beautiful.