Binka Zhelyazkova, a pioneer who was the first Bulgarian woman to direct a feature film in 1957. This movie was banned by the authorities citing cultural and socio-economic reason, treating this as a disgrace to Bulgarian values and traditions. It was daring that Binka Zhelyazkova made this film showcasing male aggression, misuse of powers, loss of innocence, female oppression and even using feminism as the leitmotif of her creative output with tragicomedy.
It seems like a absurdist comedy as the men in the village act bonkers when a Hydrogen balloon hovers over as a creature. But why has everyone gone crazy? The answer is sad, tragic and it makes you think. There is a sequence of a pack of yappy dogs barking and you have to see with subtitles, a lines goes "Bless you, Achoo, Bless you." What starts as a comedy with men acting innocent, sometimes wild, asking naked kids to hide their peckers, taking a cover with sunflowers gradually begins to realize that something is wrong. The realization of the end will come as when the Female gaze ends like a silent tragedy.
I would like to say a few words about the technical details which sets a unique atmosphere and can sense the villagers living in it. The cinematography by legendary Emil Vagenshtain manifests a harmonic potentials with the mood of the film and perhaps sometimes wild and philosophical paintings. In closing, director Binka clings to doleful, cheerful lives of people in the village, finding perceptions from all age groups and what the surreal Balloon means to each. A Cinema is for everyone and a must see masterpiece from Bulgaria.
