The Foreigner

As the movie shows, now, I live through something extraordinary. I am making a memory that will worm me when I get old. Because life without memories flies away as the wind does. Or at least in the movie is said so.

At its middle I decided to write because it was a participant in a contest for Bulgarian movies. At its end I decided to wrote about it because of what it was. I do not forget to note that it was recommended to me by a close friend but I haven't the courage to watch home production. I will note also that I am writing on a piece of paper with a pencil because my battery went down. And I miss only the candle.

Because of that contest I wondered why our people do not make movies about foreign countries or at least talking about them. Naturally I throw aside this idea as impossible.

And here! In this movie! Staging is good (on times hand shooting is beyond the measures, but not so much), acting is good, french speech is receiving. The atmosphere can warm your heart. In general, a movie able to give a lesson to most of us. At least I say it. Bravo! A movie that succeeded to change the meaning of songs. In life there are songs and is up to us which will sing - the sad or the cheer ones.

I note: one of the elderly family couples reminds me of the couple in "Shrek" about which I will add what people say. It is not important that you are a monster. It is important to find a monster like you that will love you. The end.

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I must say that Niki Iliev's movie 'The Foreigner' was a pleasant surprise. Initially, my expectations were quite low as I haven't seen many decent Bulgarian movies recently (at least, not filmed over the last decade). However, I liked its style, tone, the balance between playful lightness and 'depth'. The music was in sync with the scenery and the characters; nice yet unobtrusive background to what was unfolding on the screen. The characters were well presented with a great sense of humour and some uniquely 'typical' (albeit a bit oversimplified) features of the Balkan mentality. The cinematography was absolutely gorgeous! It reminded me of a peculiar but strangely fascinating mixture between Emir Kusturica's masterpieces (e.g. 'Black cat, white cat') and some of Pedro Almodóvar's earlier movies - e.g. 'Kika', 'Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown' ('Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios'), but with a modern feel. I loved the landscape, the vibrant colours and especially the scenes filmed in the Bulgarian countryside, seen through the eyes of a Frenchman ('The Foreigner') who visits Bulgaria and falls in love at first sight (or imagines himself to be in love!) with a local girl. Actually, the actor playing the foreigner is Lubomir Kovatchev, a very talented Bulgarian actor who speaks French fluently. While watching the movie, I felt almost nostalgic, recalling my childhood in Bulgaria. To me, this movie seems like a lovely portrayal of the 'meeting' between two worlds - Eastern and Western Europe, modern and traditional values, the City and the Village, past and present. The emphasis is not so much on the love story than on the collision between these two worlds. We all as human beings sometimes struggle to understand not only each other's differences based on our origin, not only each other's language, but each other's perspective. This led to many comic and at times, tragic situations. However, the beauty of this movie was also in capturing 'moments of meeting' between people of diverse background which transcended language and verbal communication. To quote Exupéry, 'It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye'. The only criticism I have is that some of the characters (for example, Valentin Goshev's character Zlatan) were a bit one-dimensional and too much like the famous literary archetype of the Bulgarian anti-hero Bay Ganyo, created in the late 19th century as an epitome of arrogance and ignorance. I think, however, that by the end of the story this character's personality certainly evolved as well as the others'. I liked how some stereotypes were broken, for example that all Bulgarian people living in villages are 'dumb' and savage. On the contrary, gentleness and sensitivity were evoked even in the hearts of the seemingly rough fathers and brothers of the two rival families. The constant battles between the two brothers and the gossiping of (the supporting character) Magdalena's sisters were a pleasure to behold. The ending was priceless! Overall, I enjoyed this movie very much. Well done to Niki Iliev and the crew!

There are a lot of things which really made strong impact, such as the shaky camera, the inadequate editing and the sound effects. The plot didn't make any sense and the acting is terrible most of the time. I took in mind that the movie is directed by Niki Iliev, who graduated in film directing and the set is financed by private companies, which probably limited the budget, but a more careful consideration of some scenes would have been useful.

The plot brought up questions such as how communication is so poor among family members, business partners and how come the people from the two villages are so unaware of what is happening around them. And at the same time girls have perfect manicure and make up all the time, some of them are even following the fashion trends. Providing that the natives in the movie live a rural life, they dress classy for their standard of living. GPS navigation doesn't exist.

The action scenes in the movie can be characterized as a parody and a parallel with action scenes from Bollywood can be made. The director, as an actor, showed great kicks and punches but they were miles away from the desired targets spots.

In terms of after effects, low- quality SFX were used and more detailed work on audio should have been great. The ambient sounds and the non- diegetic music is rubbish. Heightened FX are partly used, rather inadequate songs are chosen to do that instead. Some songs were not referenced like the other 3 songs circulating in the set. Perhaps of copyrights? A good idea should have been to collect "buzz tracks" on location, rather using ready- made ones. There is great software which can compensate for shaky camera footage.

As a summary it would be a great production if it was made by final year students. Good camera motion. Ridiculous plot.

Ultimate the variety in your life. Inspire your next getaway. Trace the story of the style and culture in the Bulgarian film industry. The early years of the Bulgarian era finally agains the difficult life situations. The director and writer is Niki Iliev. Magnificent screenplay, which will associate with a team of star actors. Striking architecture, grand boulevards, world-class art and classic places to stay from countries all around the world. Traveller and the beauty can join to the mountain town, the rocky islands knowns with theirs black seaside imagination and wildlife. Extraordinary film which includes action scenes, excellent food, French wine and remarkable sound.

The movie isn't bad but also is nothing special considering that it is a directorial debut. It is true that the rating is too high I gave him 5 but I must admit that there were pretty funny moments. It is a light and pleasant story, with very nice music and also with beautiful actors. Interesting fact about the film is that it is an extended version of the short film with which the director graduated from the university. The film has no deep meaning and it's just a story about the clash of people who have nothing in common. It's good for wasting time and if you are looking for something that doesn't make you think about serious things. The feeling that one feels after watching a film depends on expectations before watching it so my advice is have low expectations and the movie will surprise you.