Movie Review: The Unknown Soldier's Patent Leather Shoes (Lachenite obuvki na neznayniya voin)

The Unknown Soldier's Patent Leather Shoes (Lachenite obuvki na neznayniya voin)

Boyana Film, Sredets Grupa, 1979, Bulgaria.

Middle-aged filmmaker Rangel Vulchanov goes to London to film the guards in front of the Buckingham Palace. He suddenly remembers his childhood in small Bulgarian village just before World War II and before the Communist era. There was a lake that dried and the villager collected a lot of fish that turned out to be inedible. Rangel's alter ego Mone (Borislav Tsankov) and his relatives (maybe a hundred of them) lived all in one house. For some reason Grandmother Slavah (Slavka Ankova) wanted to burn the house down but Grandfather Dobrin (Ivan Stoychev) always saved them. 

Mone

Grandmother Slavah

Grandfather Dobrin

Rangel tells about his childhood combining kid Mone's (Borislav Tsankov) exaggeration and realism. For example one time dog ate his eye but of course the eye grows back. Next we see Black Uncle's (Nikolay Velichkov) wedding with his White Bride (Emiliya Myrynska). Mischievous Mone gets in trouble and Mother (Venka Minkova) hits him and he "dies." 

Mone's relatives

Black Uncle and White Aunt

Mone also thinks about World War I when Grandfather went to war and Grandmother had about 23 babies. Grandmother gets enough of fighting and ends the war. Someone gets murdered in the wedding but no-one seems to be sad. Maybe it happened in some other wedding? 

Grandmother ends the war

In war grandfather looted a pair of boots from a dead soldier. Finally a tragedy strikes the village and only Mone and grandfather survive. Mone travels alone to Sofia where he buys Patent Leather Shoes. New war is beginning and Mone wants to participate. When Mone returns grandfather has died so Mone has to arrange his burial. 

Grandfather funeral

Rangel Vulchanov

This is experimental and poetic film with magical camera work. The village may seem picturesque but Mone feels little sympathy for her blunt relatives except for grandfather and White Aunt. There is hidden oppression in the traditions as White Aunt does not seem like happy bride being forced to marry unpleasant man. Director has said that he made this movie to sort out and understand his repressed childhood memories. Being his personal account this is quite surreal and difficult film, but also beautifully filmed and even funny at times.

Let's make this part of The 2016 Movie Watching Challenge (#3. Movie that you have never heard of) 

Rating: Good

Starring: Slavka Ankova, Emiliya Myrynska, Ivan Stoychev, Borislav Tsankov, Nikolay Velichkov, Rangel Vulchanov, Grigor Dimitrov, Trayanka Stoichkova, Venka Minkova, Nevena Parzheva, Teodora Georgieva, Lyubomir Ivanov 

Director: Rangel Vulchanov