Vilna zona

This is a trenchant social satire of contemporary philistinism fashioned in typical merciless and incisive style of writer Georgi Mishev, who has a series of films to his credit, realized in collaboration with several different directors (Lyudmil Kirkov, Eduard Sachariev, Ivan Andonov, Chavdar Gagov). This time he uses his satirical talent to expose the moral distortions and the coarse consumerist attitude to life, which the discrepancy between growing living standards and sluggish moral evolution create in people. 'Villa zone' opens with party at a small suburban villa. The youngest son of the family has been called up to join the army and he is having his farewell party. However, tension replaces the festive mood as soon as he announced that he has married the girl whom his parents consider unsuitable, not least because of her poor financial prospects. The natural defensive reaction of the parents is expressed in a series of aggressive acts, but the mutiny of the young man against the rank of consumerist passions and the narrow-mindedness of his parents shakes the fragile foundations of their philistine well being. This is one of successive, remarkable films in Bulgarian cinema in 70th.

In this film set in the 1970s we follow the story of a family of urbanites who organise a farewell party for their recently conscripted son (as was the norm of time). We see them preparing a feast for friends and and relatives it their villa, a summer home outside of city limits. The concept of the villa and so called villa zone, a zoned area in which citizens of larger cities could engage in recreational activities, some farming and enjoying the clean air, as they say. Many of these villas for the average people were constructed in the 70s and 80s, following the fast urbanization of the country and voluntary migration from villages to larger industrial towns and cities. Before the 70s, villas would be associated with the elite, given that the population was largely engaged in agriculture and lived in smaller communities, closer to nature.

In this contemporary critique of the villa zone phenomenon we see some of its shortcomings. The inhabitants of the villas are portrayed as very material people who constantly compare themselves with their peers and neighbours in some form of rivalry. In the beginning of the film we see one of the characters hastily dumping a load of paving stones in a manner implying that he acquired them by appropriation from his workplace. We can hear others commenting on different aspects of the building and drawing comparison with their own villas. The focus of the event is the generous table which undoubtedly took a great deal of preparation and funds.

The parents of the young conscripted man nervously wait for their son to arrive to the event and wish to introduce him to a girl from a family they deem suitable for creating his future connections. He however has already married a girl he loves without his parents knowing.

The picture shows the absurdity of this way of living, the vain materialistic values in a society that has changed its structure and traditional way of life rather recently. It questions the obsession with social status and places emphasis on things that do matter - such as love.