Taxi Sofia

Story in Bulgarian drama "Directions" (2017), skillfully directed by Stephan Komandarev, almost repeats a basic concept--five taxis-five cities-one night--of the 1991 film "Night on Earth", directed by Jim Jarmusch.

However, while common denominator for five different stories experienced by as many taxi drivers in Jarmusch's movie was one night (on Earth) from the movie title, "Directions" locates all (1+5) taxi drivers in the same city, Bulgarian capital Sofia, thus feeding them with the same talk-of-the-day on the local radio, polarizing the audience about the incident which happened earlier that day... S P O I L E R - A L E R T... brought to us in the introductory story about the small business owner, also driving a taxi to make ends meet, who can only save his business with the help of solely through banker bribery-obtainable, cash infusion loan. Trying to remain as an honest man as he can, already uncomfortable about the bribe he has to pay, when he learns that bribe has doubled in his anger and his shame he shoots the unscrupulous banker and then himself... E N D - O F - T H E - S P O I L E R.

Later that night, characters in a numerous parallel stories (if I counted well, altogether ten stories: the two initial stories (about the high-school student, secretly a "belle de jour" for a classy hotel clientele, and about the corrupt banker), experienced and (or) instigated by the day-time driver, and eight additional stories distributed on and revolving around the five night-time taxi drivers) brought to screen in a more-or-less smooth transitions, by very solid actors with good dynamics between them, keep you interested from the get-go: commencing on already described, extreme start-up incident, inspiring other, fortunately only attempts of radical responses, but never solutions to the ongoing problems.

And while different stories in Jarmusch's omnibus (one of my favourites in his many-wise very enjoyable opus) have a comic relief, although, nevertheless treating some serious issues, Komandarev's stories, save for a few jokes told, are all about the people brought to despair by constant and hopeless exposure to economic suffering and therefore troubled life conditions in a post-glasnost and perestroika, newly emerged democracies of (not only) Bulgarian type, societies not yet well adjusted to, or cultivated for the way too soon introduced, therefore unsustainable European values, people who have lost their compass in life and who need new "directions" to (try to) move forward... Exciting and thought provoking movie.

Step inside the taxis of Sofia for a glimpse into the wild heart of Bulgaria. Twist in the passenger seat as drivers have awkward encounters with drunks, thugs, cheating spouses and the suicidal. Witness the rescue of a stray dog or stray human. Watch drivers fall in love with the wrong person, or the right one. Experience a good passenger, or a bad one. Find an excellent driver, or a heartless one. The stories of joy and pain are inspired by real events and conversations with drivers.

Directions provides a fascinating look inside Bulgarian life as well as the human heart. The camera work was done pretty much all at once and was handed from one car to another, which adds urgency to each scene and heightens the tension. "This required lots of rehearsals," said the director at the Toronto International Film Festival. He maintains to be an optimist at heart, because "the others have left Bulgaria." One aim of the film is to "provoke discussion, which is the first step for a clear view of reality." The film is authentic and gripping. It flows well from one scene to the next, like you really have a seat in each of the cabs. There are great twists and turns as the film goes in different directions. The film first surfaced at Cannes.

I saw an exceptional film in 2017 - Directions/Posoki, an ensemble drama from Bulgaria, presenting Sofia at night as seen by its taxi drivers, complete with tawdry display windows, ubiquitous pawn shops, children descending into prostitution and pensioners living in abject poverty. Just for the record, it's a laugh-out-loud comedy, and most amazing of all, five of the six presented stories are based on real events, while the final one is an adaptation of a work by Anton Chekhov.

Bulgaria, as portrayed in Directions, is a land which remains optimistic against all odds, for all the pessimists and realists have left long ago. A land where there are only two directions to take: Sofia Airport Terminal 1 or Sofia Airport Terminal 2. A land which has been left behind by God, along with one-third of the population.

The director, Stephen Komandarev, came to the screening I attended in Luxembourg, and was just as talkative as in 2014 when he presented his previous film, The Judgement, at the Warsaw Film Festival. I asked him whether he had been influenced by either Night on Earth by Jim Jarmusch or Taxi by Jafar Panahi, and he said that his main influence was rather Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia, as well as various works by the Dardenne brothers. A very good influence to have, if you ask me...

This film is a fantastic work of art. Go see it.

Very interesting and realistic movie.Thank you!This is so eastern europish 1/1.

A mixture of sad and funny thrown into the (very) bleak reality of Bulgarian life in Sofia. We see the life in the city through the eyes of the taxi drivers and the Passengers where each character brings something different to the mix. The range of people varies so we get to see this reality from different angles.

The direction and the actors are good and desptie the different, seemingly unconnected stories, there is a general feel of closure.

Not all the stories are even in their quality and the ballance of optimism and pessimism leans clearly towards the latter making it a harder watch. I also didn't agree with some of the points made by the director where singular occurrences of unjustice were the exclusive reason for a tragic effect. People have heart attack as a consequence of a stressfull office work. Should we blame the (horrible) boss or the person himself that gave too much for the work? However, this doesn't make the boss any better and in Directions these are sleazy, worst kind of people, that the director has shown well.

To sum it up, Directions is a good movie that show the hard life of ordinary people.