Kozelat

It's a wonderful film! Last year i heard about the shootings at the harbor in Burgas and i couldn't hardly wait to see it. Last week in Burgas it happened. It was amazing! The full cinema house and the people asking for another screenings. I think it's one of the best Bulgarian movies for the last few years. I laughed so hard at some scenes and so the audience did. So i think it could be a comedy, although i'm sure the director probably used the humor just to open another doors, what he did very well! And what the issues behind this doors are, so certainly this is difficult to be understand by everybody. But who did it, would have maybe my opinion of having a wonderful time watching this movie.

The film depicts a perfectly believable story - the ignorant, but good Yono, who is well portrayed by Ivan Barnev, who is a seething nationalist with a hatred for foreigners, who though in the end realizes his mistake and falls in love with the American woman Emma. The story is told by the Goat, who has been sent by the ancient Thracian gods to protect an ancient treasure - an it's mission is successful. A good film with both comic and serious moments.

I'm sure the above commentary ("dull") was written by one of Lyuba Kulezic's goons (Lyuba Kulezic is a Bulgarian journalist who widely criticized the film). It's sad that such people exist in this country and try to destroy somebody's reputation in such a typical Balkan way - a stab in the back. The film is not dull - in Plovdiv it won the Viewer's Prize. I don't think that everyone in Plovdiv would be such a moron to give a "dull" film a prize. The film was full of wit, charm and when I watched it the audience (me included) was splitting it's sides with laughter. To all critics who say that the film's budget was not used properly - all I can say is that to film on an archaeological site, such as Perperikon, there is a "rent" - every day of filming is expensive. And anyway, unlike the other modern Bulgarian films this one actually had a message - it showed the negative sides of the Bulgarian people, which so strongly show in the film's enemies. I hope that the gods strike them down. And, whoever wrote it has ABOMINABLE English!

First of all it doesn't matter the genre of the film. This is not a style drill.This is a film.It's task is not to look like as sensational stunt but to move deeply.The film is made as a naive painting - close to the great Georgian and Croatian naïve masters - Niko Pirosmani, Ivan Generalić, Mirko Virius...The interesting thing is that this is not gained trough the picturesque screen image -this is attained especially through the actors and their way of acting, which is very difficult.This is very close to the poetics of the Bulgarian writer Jordan Radichkov(the script is written after his novel 'The Goat') as his object of art is the human being with his illusions and naive notions about life, death and the great questions of existence. I'm very impressed by the cinematographic language that conveys this aspect of the literature material.The acting is brilliant - as is always in the films of George Diulgerov.I hope that such films will be produced and won't remain as a sole grain in a empty garner.This film has nothing to do with the plastic postmodern art that mocks every theme it gets nor with the narrative tearful American films close to the soc - realism.This a pure piece of art.I attribute some of the comments bellow to a lack of knowledge or to a prejudice towards the authors of the film.

For those of you who haven't seen Kozelat yet, please don't let film critiques fool you that this is a film about a "talking goat" or a romantic comedy, because it isn't anywhere near that. Yes, there is a male goat (think of Lassie), but it rather appears as the narrator of the film. Nothing surreal here. The film, as any other, has it's romantic subplot, and it is hilarious for the most part, but if we are to call it a romantic comedy, then we have to call Kosturica's "Underground" a love triangle. Beneath the comical surface there is so much bitterness, that you only have to be part of the Bulgarian culture to really understand and appreciate this work of art. Basically the film is about a stubborn, yet very charming Yona (Ivan Barnev), late thirties, and his quest to preserve his country's long lost identity. The film also raises some political and social issues, but it is not too much to spoil the film. No worries. Kozelat will charm you with its high dosage of Balkan humor, its unforgettable images, and music that will make you numb. This film is definitely worth seeing, trust me! There is something that you will find to like whether it is the beautiful cinematography; the stunning performance of Ivan Barnev; the phenomena Angela Rodel (Emma) who sings beautifully Bulgarian folk songs as she speaks Bulgarian, or simply to see the work of one of the front-runners in Bulgarian cinema,director Georgi Djlgerov. Loved it. Bravo!!!!

The film was shown at the recent Sofia film festival. And it is a big nothing. Probably this comes from the script that fall to pieces and is very slow. Besides it is said to be comedy. The Goat continues the old fashioned deja view films of some false ethnographic folklore museum stile that no one cares about at all. It is a shame for a generally good director to be connected with such a failure. But probably it was worth from producers side as the film is a remarkably simple production for a very high budget for Bulgarian standards and is covered entirely with governmental grant. Acting is equally bad. But we are used to that in Djulgerov's films. It is not for the first time that the director tortures the audience with non professional actresses to experiment the level of their endurance. Compliments deserves only the black pedigree goat and his owners. Whether the content of the narration of the black goat is worth? I think it is not .