6 days ago
Bulgarian cinema is enjoying a infinitesimal this year, starting pinch Valeska Grisebach’s bonzer crime play The Dreamed Adventure, which won nan Jury Prize astatine Cannes backmost successful May. The likewise incisive Black Money for White Nights, by Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov, is very overmuch trim from nan aforesaid cloth, group successful nan aforesaid post-Soviet black-market system wherever everyone is connected nan take. Some people, however, return much than others, pinch cops and crooks snagging nan lion’s stock while mean group divvy up nan scraps.
Marina (Tanya Shahova) and her hubby Gosha (Ivan Savov) are very overmuch successful nan second category. Marina is simply a midwife, and patients hopeless for top-tier curen routinely gaffe her an letter cover afloat of cash, which she shares pinch her colleagues. Gosha, a section position master, has a side-hustle of his own, turning a unsighted oculus while bootleggers siphon diesel from nan tankers that beryllium idly connected nan train tracks. One night, Marina comes location from a normal day’s activity and tells him, “We only request 85 much leva.” “Only?” Gosha sighs, astatine nan imaginable of having to raise an magnitude that, complete successful nan States, would beryllium little than 50 bucks.
Marina, however, is not looking to nan west; her dream is to spell further eastbound connected a travel fueled by fantasies that her existent begetter was a Russian soldier, if her mother’s concealed cache of emotion letters are thing to spell by. It will beryllium nan vacation of a lifetime; making a play connected an aged Bulgarian saying — which translates astir arsenic money saved for a rainy time — nan mates are putting their ill-gotten gains towards what’s efficaciously a visit to nan White Nights of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s St. Petersburg, past taking nan Trans-Siberia Express from Moscow to China. The measure comes to 10,310 leva ($6k), pinch a 3% discount for cash.
Sharp eyes will announcement that Bulgaria adopted nan Euro successful January of 2026, but nan filmmakers hold nan large uncover — what twelvemonth is this? — for maximum impact. Unaware, we watch arsenic Marina puts connected a manner show for her friends and family, modeling each nan outfits she plans to deterioration to nan Pushkin Museum, nan Mariinsky Theater and nan Catherine Palace. A fewer days later, a newsreader announces that Russia has invaded Ukraine. “What does that mean?” Marina wonders. “We’re acold away,” shrugs Gosha. “By summer, nary 1 will moreover remember.” Nevertheless, they return to nan recreation agent, who offers to rebook their now-verboten flights to St. Petersburg from Belgrade, a conveniently non-EU city.
As successful nan pitch-black Blaga’s Lessons, which won Karlovy Vary’s Crystal Globe Competition successful 2023 and went connected to go Bulgaria’s charismatic Oscar submission, nary dream goes unpunished successful Sofia’s breadline culture. First of all, location is nary autobus to Belgrade, arsenic promised, and successful a nicely judged item Marina and Gosha get caught betwixt a Pride march and an anti-Pride march successful nan capital. Finally, Gosha calls his brother-in-law Kosyo (Ivan Barnev), a taxi driver-slash-heavy metallic guitarist, to return them there. During a little stop-off astatine Kosyo’s home, Marina’s alternatively much worldly sister Lucy (Margita Gosheva) smells a rat and makes a telephone call: The recreation institution has gone bust, and location is nary grounds of their booking (“Why didn’t you take a normal country?” Lucy asks).
Was it a scam? It’s ne'er rather explained whether what happened was deliberate, but it does look much apt that nan institution simply went under, since they beryllium money to galore different people. The constabulary don’t attraction either way, driving Gosha into nan arms of a gangster called The Tank, who promises to get him his money backmost wrong a week, for 40% commission. As you mightiness imagine, things tin move connected a dime pinch a characteristic called The Tank, and while Marina gets into a feud pinch her sister astir a 30-year-old flimsy and a very individual concealed astir her childless marriage, they do. Then things move very acheronian indeed.
Only a twelvemonth ago, this movie would person seemed rather quaint and moreover alien to occidental viewers, but pinch nan cost-of-living situation creeping up everyplace successful nan fallout from nan Iran war, this communicative now seems astir unnervingly timely, as, does Marina’s rose-tinted, almost MAGA-like obsession pinch Tsarist Russia. Surprisingly, though, astatine its heart, Black Money for White Nights isn’t truthful overmuch a sadistic return connected late-capitalist authorities arsenic a beautifully acted and emotionally earthy emotion story, and while it mightiness extremity connected nan bleakest position possible, location is simply a moving committedness of reconciliation that plays retired — successful speech only — arsenic nan closing credits crawl, aft nan seemingly last slice to black.
Title: Black Money For White Nights
Festival: Karlovy Vary (Crystal Globe Competition)
Directors: Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov
Screenwriters: Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov, Decho Taralezhkov
Cast: Tanya Shahova, Ivan Savov, Margita Gosheva, Ivan Barnev, Sibila Petrova
Sales: Abraxas Films
Running time: 1 hr 34 mins
