In this evocative social drama, Komandarev aims his lens at the lives of today's senior citizens - a vulnerable group whom politicians so often promise the right to a dignified life… but reality is much different. Karlovy Vary 2023 Best Film Award.
A recently widowed former comparative literature teacher, Blaga is a woman of firm morals. She is a bearer of knowledge and sensibility that the present day does not appreciate. When she tries to use all of her savings to order a gravestone for her recently deceased husband, but is robbed by telephone scammers soon after, her moral foundation collapses. Outwardly cool-headed, but inwardly ravaged, Blaga has no choice but to act according to the fixed, jungle-like rules of financial relationships governing this ruthless and incomprehensible world.
"Over three decades, Bulgaria lost one-third of its population /…/. Many educated and highly qualified people were sucked out by the Western economy; later on, the poorly paid work force left as well. /…/ Schools and hospitals in the provincial towns are closing down, and education has been devaluated in general. /…/ I am not sure if the system established here is capitalism or rather some absurdist surrogate, but I can bravely state that the expectations of my generation were not met either by the newly established order or by us joining the European Union." (Stephan Komandarev)