farouna
The film is funny because it's true; this is very much how these relationships work. I read most of the other comments about this film and what I saw was just sour comments coming from people who most likely have got no idea about how these things go. I've seen things like this happen around me in Istanbul over and over again between foreigners and poor Kurds who are simply looking for a way out of their poverty and who would do ANYTHING to get a residency for the EU or US.What really horrified me was the dismissal of the 'Bulgarian' acts in the film because they are actually very important. They show us how Daniel has gotten himself in an emotional pit where he accepts that his 'lover' has a wife and a life of which he is no part. He even goes as far as rejecting the nephew of Kyril, who is offered to him on a platter and who very obviously sexually arouses him, because he's committed to a man who only sees him as a convenience.
B24
Another of the reviews here has it right: the attraction of someone from a foreign and backwater culture very different from one's own to an affluent -- hence more powerful -- person whose own culture betrays elements of decadence is unlikely to portend anything good.There is as well something of the whiff of upper class meets lower class here. I am reminded of Christopher Isherwood's opus in which that theme is played out in Berlin and Spain even as this one is. The writers of this novel and film are covering ground trod before. I do not find this questionable, and indeed I think there is a universal element at work here. That involves the age-old theme of someone with money and social standing besotted by a physically attractive and naive but appealing person who lacks those other attributes. Sometimes it works out, like Pygmalion, but most of the time it is doomed from the start.The question here is whether the story or the film itself is any good. I thought it was something of a mixed bag. It seemed to me compelling in some parts, as in its vivid depiction of social and cultural distinctions or its clearly professional production values; but I felt less certain of the plot. Although the character of Daniel is completely open and obvious, and even Kyril is vaguely recognizable in both his person and background, the connections to third parties seem forced and improbable. It would have been a more successful film had it concentrated on developing internal conflict rather than hopping about Europe. Sometimes less is more.
albeeman
If you have ever been involved with another guy from a former communist country who has absolutely nothing, you can relate to this film! Involved with an poor guy from ANY poor country? YOU CAN RELATE TO THIS FILM! You don't understand their culture, you don't understand their compatriots, their language or their relatives. This guy excites you TOTALLY and you don't really mind the growing drain on your pocketbook... You become more and more in love and more and more involved. The passion of it is exciting; so is the exotic nature of the whole thing including the travel to their home country. What are you getting into?
losperros
This is one of the really bad films I have seen lately(thanks for the gratuitous nudity!). Beside the poor acting and lack of authenticity in the representation of the Bulgarian hunk, the meager Spaniard is regretful, the whole plot is brave but lacks back up from the cast and director. The generalizations about the Bulgarians are so hmmmm...general that they should be found offensive by anyone who is Bulgarian. (My friend is and she thought it was awful too). There are so many loose ends and discrepancies, the cast and acting are so naive and not convincing. The Spaniard who supposedly is a big fish and has a consulting firm is so dumbfound with love or desire for the BulG hunk, that he looks like an idiot. The solo shots of him looking at the camera and trying to deliver some sort of documentary feel to the movie do not fit, there is nothing that can save it.Don't waste your time and money to rent this.
AD
