Sobiratel
Pul aka “The Bullet Collector” is hands down the best art house
movie I've seen so far in 2013. It's unlike any other art house film
I've seen. The film is being compared to François
Truffaut's 400 Blows which is understandable since the story itself parallels the 1959 French classic. But besides with dealing with similar issues the two films couldn't be more different. This Russian
film is the first feature length film from Aleksandr Vartanov, who's
only previous credit was as a co-director on a Russian sitcom.
This is an incredible
debut feature film, I never would have guessed that this is
Vartanov's first real time behind the camera. I should say right off
the bat that this is either a love it or hate it sort of film. As
with a lot of Russian films the subject matter is incredibly dark and
depressing. But if you look closely enough through all the bleakness,
grit and grime there is some hidden beauty to be found in this
picture.
The plot concerns a
troubled fourteen year old boy by the name of “On” (Ruslan
Nazarenko). He lives an awful life, he's abused both by his
step-father and classmates on a daily basis. His mother has stopped
caring and is so lost in herself that she's blind to her husband's
abuse to her son. Considering his “life” or lack there of one On
retreats into a fantasy world. In this imaginary world he is strong,
not a victim. In this world two gangs exist.
The first being “The
Bullet Collectors” a group of assassins who never miss their
targets. Even the cops are scared of them. They've gotten the name of
the Bullet Collectors because they always take the spent shell
casings from the victims that they've killed. They carry mythical
guns which can only be seen by the Bullet Collectors and the victims.
When On is asked about his weapons he says he has three guns. “The
Gun of Light, The Gun of Dark and The Gun of Mercy”. Also in this
imaginary world On's father himself was a legendary Bullet Collector.
On also has a beautiful
girlfriend in his fantasy and even a young kid who eventually serves
as his apprentice. But reality takes an even more dark turn for poor
old On. He's forced to defend himself at one point, stabbing a bully
in the crotch with a pair of scissors. This action has On sent to a
juvenile prison. But this Russian Juvi makes the American
counterparts and British borstals look like cake. Imagine the borstal
from Alan Clarke's British classic “Scum” add in some
militaristic armed guards and you got a slight idea of what were
dealing with.
The film weaves in and
out of On's real life and the fantasy world he has created in his
mind. Through-out the film it is difficult to tell what's reality and
what's fantasy. But that doesn't take away from the viewing pleasure
of this film. This film should have been an incredibly hard pill to
swallow. Films that mix reality and fantasy with no clear indication
of which are which are often frustrating. But due to directors
Vartanov's stunning cinematography and choice use of visuals the film
works as moving poetry.
Vartanov's vision for
the film is disturbing and hauntingly beautiful at the same time.
Vartanov is able to even make the most grim setting look oddly
breathtaking when he chooses. His direction at times reminded me of
early Herzog. Much like Herzog, Vartanov has no problem stopping the
story and going silent. Just so he can focus on peoples faces who say
nothing. On images on trees and urban decay that convey so much more
then the spoken word. At other times during the fantasy sequences the
film can feel like a less kinetic version of a Shinya Tsukamoto
film. Such as a sequence involving the ghost of a dead Bullet
Collector slowly wrapping his head in his own intestines.
The film isn't overly
graphic violence wise, but the violence contained in the picture is
highly disturbing. Especially considering all the abuse is inflicted
upon characters in their pre-teens or younger. One harrowing sequence
has On being beat up in his school's bathroom. After his head has
been dunked in the toilet a kid about half his age enters the
bathroom. Only to be mugged and kicked by On, venting his own
frustrations out on a completely harmless child. Also the film contains a lot of scenes of young kids brandishing weapons, brutally beating and stabbing each other. So be warned that just because this isn't overly graphic the impact is very strong. Especially in the final twenty minutes where everything reaches it's boiling point.
The film never tells
you if you should root for On or not. He's certainly a product of his environment and the whole nature vs nurture concept does come into
play. But it's difficult to root for a character who beats up a
seven year old kid. But the film never judges On, it just plays
witness to his acts of reality and fantasy. The shift in tone is also impeccable, Bullet Collector moves from an urban drama/fantasy to a
prison drama with ease.
This film is going to
divide audiences big time. I'm not sure how big the market is for
Russian art house pictures are in the first place. Add to that a challenging storyline and an uncompromisingly bleak story and you
have a love it or hate it film. This reviewer loved the film though,
it's truly a work of art.
Bullet Collector is
brought to in a 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer courtesy of
Artploitation. The high contrast black and white photography looks
stunning.
For audio we get a
Russian 2.0 track that is perfectly acceptable, no complaints.
Extras are very cool
indeed. The best being a 12 page booklet with linear notes from
Travis Crawford. Also included in the booklet is an enlightening 3
page interview with the director. As far the disks actual extras we
get treated to 25 minute making of segment. Which is a nice bit fly
on the wall style footage. Also included is a single deleted scene,
audition tapes, trailer for the film and trailers for other
Artploitation films. As a side note there past release of the modern
day youth yakuza flick “Hard Romanticker” comes recommended from
this reviewer, but that's another review for another time.
All and all this is a brilliant Russian art house film, it's a challenging watch sure but it
still comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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