Blue Moon

Many films in the last decade about the new Central Europe that has emerged since the fall of the Berlin Wall, mainly concentrate on crime or other anti?social behaviour. The débutante Andrea Dusl, who herself crossed to the unknown world on the other side of the Danube in 1989, made a feature that sketches the many social changes against a much more colourful background. The result is a striking metaphor for the relationships between East and West, filled with laconic moments and tragi-comic characters.On the border between Austria and Slovakia, an angry Mafioso barks into his mobile phone. The ‘money’ should have been there by now. Shirley, the beautiful blonde woman beside him in the car, is also snarled at. When Johnny turns up, a pretty weird barrow-boy, the situation soon gets out of hand. As a result, Johnny and Shirley set off in the clapped?out car. When the spoils have been shared out in Slovakia, Shirley disappears as fast as she came. Johnny sets off to look for her with the gangster from former East Germany who trades shoes. Their present?day Odyssey ends deep in the Ukraine, on the Black Sea coast, in the bustling harbour of Odessa.