Krisana

Krisana is as sad as a film can be, steeped in guilt feelings and missed opportunities. Shot with tired movements in an inevitable black & white. To put it better, shot with a superior tiredness and a necessary black & white. Long contemplative shots follow a kind of Man Without Characteristics through a story that does not reveal itself easily. Real or dream. At night a middle-aged man witnesses a woman’s suicide – at least he thinks he does. He does not intervene. After he has been interrogated by a cynical policeman, he returns to the bridge during the day. The man, an archivist by profession, looks for clues like a real archive rat. He searches a handbag, reads long letters addressed to a certain Alexej, looks at photographs from better times. Whether he is closer to an answer or an insight, remains unclear at first. Krisana is set on the edge of Europe and has an East European atmosphere that already seems to belong to the past. Kelemen has a reputation of being the sorcerer’s apprentice to Bela Tarr. In this film, he approaches the master apparently closer than ever, yet also unmistakably tells his own story and creates his own sentiment. However dark, the film is steeped in love – albeit not a happy or achievable love. Superficially unmoved, yet one can guess the emotions under the surface. (GjZ)