The Zift Film - Movie Review Example

The “Zift” Film Introduction “Zift” is a film produced in Bulgaria in the early 1960s after the release of Zachary Baharov nicknamed as Moth. Zift has several meanings, which include zygote intrafallopian transfer that is in terms of biology, in Bulgaria it sometimes meant tar, which is a drug, and other times it related to a slang meaning shit. The name Zift fitted Moth so much since he was a highly rated tar chewer (Todorov, 2010:132). Moth faces false murder charges and gets to jail before the communist coup where he serves for 20 good years. While in jail however, he befriends his roommate Van Wurst besides engaging in soviet patriotic music. Moth shares a lot about life issues with Van Wurst while in prison. After their release from prison, Wurst sees no hope in the outside world and hangs himself. Moth comes out of jail totally a different person, and ready to venture into the real world reality. Moth, after coming out of jail finds the world outside not a different place from the prison he came from. During his early ages as a teenager, Moths father used to take him to watch films, and he grew with that attitude and desire of film making in the future when he grows up. It is after serving the 20 years in jail now that he decides it is the better time to realize his dream. Though it looked challenging, he had the motive and desire to succeed in the industry (Todorov, 2010:132). Body The idea of the film did not differ with the other Bulgarian movies as they mainly focused on everyday life experiences, constructing of the national image of the country and historic moments. Therefore, after Gardev and Vladislav made several consultations on how their film could look like, they decided to focus on a captivating and enticing genre attack, which they thought would draw the attention of many. The action, staged in the middle of monumental spaces of the whole state encircled by a zone of town life engulfed with hostility and poor life, mainly covered the life of the people in the society. The communist life in the days still afresh in the minds; the film framed the animosity of the communist life. The aim is to expose the communist vice and ensure its entire eviction from the society. The choice of the devices in the film made it appear as a hardboiled neo-noir. The mix of events and the stage of action gave assurance that the work has perfection and satisfaction (Celluloid Liberation Front, 2009:5). The film is in black and white pictures in order to bring out the picture of the different scenes covered. The scenes after the jail time appear short with 35mm camera, and the ones from the time of conviction have 16mm. The film exhibits different visual textures that try to bring out the different visual graphics and retro- effect. Gardev and the art directors Nikola Toromanov and Daniela wants to bring out the real appearance of communism in the Bulgarian society like exhibited in the Mausoleum of the leader. The demolition and rebuilding of the communist leadership in the society and the changes that followed also formed part in the design of the film. The pictures have a good reason to expose the collected groups with the visual features of the classical noir of the early 40s and 50s and the socialist propaganda films of the 20s. The leadership and the effects of the communist society, the means, and efforts put to conquer the communism era and aspirations of the society in the future, have full coverage in the film. The great combination of the different directors and authors made the event a success (Celluloid Liberation Front, 2009:5). Moth wants to face life in reality after coming from prison and in addition, carry on with pieces of advises he got from his friend Wurst while in prison. Wurst informed Moth that women can kill one while alive and they do not get off once they stick somewhere. This is exceptionally clear in Moth’s mind as he gets out of prison and after learning the hanging of his friend. However, he sets out on a journey to look for a girl Ada, they had met before and befriended. He gets to know about her whereabouts as a singer in a nightclub. The appearance of Ada, nicknamed Gilda on stage, made many remember the 1946 film of Rita Hayworth inviting men to blame women for historical disasters, like the 1901 Kaliakra earthquake. Moth tries as much as he can to avoid seeing Ada but all in vain because her actions, and the dancing reminds him of the ancient times of Hayworth’s. He remembers how the feeling of overcoming totaliarism and making romance and democracy possible was (Todorov, 2010:132). Moth eager to follow his best friend’s words faces a dilemma in front of Ada. Confusion fills him and retaliates in deciding whether to leave her alone or to follow her. The belief that he can control his feelings no matter what lastly overcame him and he decided to follow her. The memories of Ada in the past and how they used to live, how beautiful she looked when she met her could not help him live without her. In the film, Moth receives heavy torture in a bid to persuade him reveal what he knows about the stolen diamond but keeps that as a secret to him. Seeing that he is not responding, the sergeants threatens him that he will soon die because of the poison given to him and there is no antidote to dilute the poison as it was the case in Edmund O’Brien in, D.O.A. This also does not seem to solve the situation as he still decides to remain silent (Fuchs C, 2009:2). The film explains in details the rule of the communistic society, how the leaders abuse their powers, and the injustice practices portrayed. Moth comes out of prison, hoping that at least he gains his freedom only to find that he is mistaken. Immediately he leaves the court, the man they had attempted to snatch a diamond from is ready to claim his diamond back and sees Moth as the only person who can provide the vital information, which can help the man get the diamond back. A sergeant takes him immediately and he subjects him to bodily torture to reveal what he knows about the gold. The disappointment they get is that, Moth does not speak anything concerning the diamond, and the sergeants goes further to poison him to push him speak out. This shows how socially the society of Sofia in Bulgaria suffered in the hands of the rich bandits (Todorov, 2010:132). Zift is a film drawn on personal experiences elaborating on the ways through which the author grew in a communist society in his early days. Afterwards, the life in film and fiction teaching and the progress achieved so far. In other words, this is a film extracted from a novel since the two support one another. The tradition in Bulgaria and involvement in cinematic production bring out the genre of noir as an exotic animal. In America, the socialist satisfaction enables the classical genres of noir bring out a curious estrange. This may likely explain why the Zift film has received so much criticism and prominence outside the country, like in USA. These comprises of the places where the socialist content and genre form originated. The two forms go hand in hand and closely work together. The artwork performs better and becomes practically enjoyable when the content and genre alien to each other in a subtle way. These words came from a Russian critic known as Viktor Shklovsky (Celluloid Liberation Front, 2009:5). Though the combination sounds unusual, it works far much better and make the unfamiliar aspects involved familiar. This helped expose the social reality of communism using a unique key and to redevelop the political aesthetics of genre through crowding it with images of the communist. The harmful communist image forced into the public through different mean of communication served as the culture of the people and they had already embraced it. Town heroes and famous anecdotes in the early days used to work as potent antidotes against the inhuman communist culture. The film reveals how the collective efforts of the various geniuses among the society tried to resist the culture that damaged their reputation and hindered their freedom and democracy. The various channels of communication produced the contradicting and unhealthy practices of the legends in exploiting their workers during farming and industrial production. Many spoke against these acts, although it was not easy to succeed but no matter what, they had the determination to do away with the injustice practiced. Those who were not lucky to escape when the search for the protesters began suffering a lot in the hands of their masters. The communist rule preached for strict adherence and following of the rules all the time. The hanging of Van Wurst immediately they came from prison clearly shows how the communist society brutality was. This however, did not make Moth to lose hope in life and instead he maintained his determination to collect his past from where he had left it. He had first to look for his lover whom they had met during their schooling time and they departed after imprisonment for false allegations of murder (Todorov, 2010:132). The communism in Bulgaria has destroyed the image of the country as portrayed in the film. Everyone should adhere to the oppressive rules and regulations without even questioning anything. The torture and suffering the people go through, makes them view life as a by the way and many even regret why they had to come on earth in the first place, if this is what the future holds for them. The leaders use the people as their subject, not bothering whether their responsibility in power is to serve them better (Fuchs C, 2009:2). All these aspects combined with the film enables the film be labeled a hardcore film. The stubborn nature and firm stand of Moth also contributes to the name of the film. The film received so much credit internationally, because what it exposed did happen in not only Bulgaria, but it also happened some other countries in the world. Many got encouragement to fight for their rights from the firm stand of the characters in the film and their willingness to achieve success no matter what. The major aspects revealed in the film played a vital role in attracting the attention of the people and making them feel comfortable as they viewed the movie (Wingate S, 2011:1). Born in 1972 in Sofia, Bulgaria, Javor Gardev, the director of the movie has a lot to offer. Therefore, he is a nationalist who has seen and passed through all this communist life in his country. He has a degree in Philosophy and another one is theater directing from the National Academy of Theatre and Film. It is documented that he has directed several plays. As such, Javor Gardev is a renowned and infact one of the most famous Bulgarian theater directors currently. He received the best Director Award at the 30th Moscow International film festival for Zift, where he features as the directorial debut in full length. Below is a brief description of the bibliography of some of the film’s directors and authors. Vladislav Todorov who is a scriptwriter or an author is a Bulgarian novelist and a public intellectual. He has featured in so many occasions in his pursuit to advocate for democracy in the country. He has published scholarly books and essays on modernization, political aesthetics, performing and visual arts. At present, his specialization is in teaching history inU.S.A. This gives an explanation to why in the film, the socialism aspects in the USA and Russia comes into view. Emil Christov (b.a.c), born in 1956 in Sofia, Bulgaria, and acting as the director of photography, graduated from the Photography College and the National Academy for Theater and Film Arts. He has worked in Bulgarian and foreign productions for over twenty-five years. Today, Emil Christov has enjoyed much success including the several achievements he has made so far and that’s something he is proud of now as a cinematographer. Zachary Baharov nicknamed Moth came to life in 1980 in Sofia, Bulgaria. His love for watching films and the continuous nature of his father to take him to films rooms, made him love the movie sector very much and even dreamt of being one in the future. However, he became an actor accidentally at the age of 17. A year later, he went to school and studied theater and film arts with an aim of increasing his skills and knowledge in the field further. He has received an award for the most prestigious Bulgarian theatrical awards, which include, Askeer 2006 and Icarus 2007 for an actor in a supporting role. In Zift, Moth plays the role in his debut in full-length feature film. Tanya Ilieva, nicknamed Ada, has involved herself in modeling since the age of sixteen. Within a short period, Ada had established herself as a great person with ability and talent to perform at different stages and occasions. This is evident from the different areas she worked at and where she performed very well. Aged eighteen, she went back to Bulgaria to continue with her honors in horse-riding and focus in her studies. She got a superstar recognition in the world and termed as the smart fashion designer ever in Bulgaria, and because of this she became a figure to admire wherever she went. In addition, she was a girl who had respect and was humble to everyone. Her role in Zift is her debut in full-length feature film. Vladimir Penev, nicknamed Slug and born in 1958 in Sofia, completed his studies in Film Arts and Theater from National Academy in 1982 and also has mastered acting. He has played key roles in many movies highly recognized in Bulgaria. Some of his honors include double awards for Askeers and an award as a leading role actor outside his country,he has also won significant trophies and continued popularizing his name to the world. (Wingate S, 2011:1). The above brief analysis comprises of the life history of some of the key actors in the Zift film and those who have enabled its success so far. The combination has reliable and maximum expertise and therefore that signifies the success. This film tries to enlighten the society on the daily acts portrayed by their leaders and the effects of different leadership styles and leadership policies. It reveals how the memories of the people will never evade from them entirely but rather keep on recurring repeatedly. The communist nations and their inhuman acts towards their people and the favorable policies induced to the people, which served in favor of those in power only, have detailed coverage in the movie. The film has also tried to explain the relationship between the historical, political and social reality in the country. The film is truly a pleasurable one to watch. Bibliography Celluloid Liberation Front, 2009. Zift: Interview with Javor Gardev. Available from: http://www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk/features/2009/06/04/zift-interview-with-javor-gardev/ [accessed on 19 Mach 2013]. Fuchs C, 2009. The eye that sees all. Available from: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/71476-zift/ [accessed on 19 March 2013] Todorov, & Benatov, (2010). Zift: socialist noir. Philadelphia, Paul Dry Books. Wingate S. 2011. That tar-black taste: An interview with Vladislav Todorov. Available from: http://fictionwritersreview.com/interviews/that-tar-black-taste-an-interview-with-vladislav-todorov [accessed on 19 March 2013]. Read More