Bulgarian climbers face death in an avalanche, then things get REALLY weird.
A team of climbers are preparing for their new mountain climbing expedition. They are brought together by their mutual love for this dangerous sport, for its challenges. They, however, differ in tempers, in problems and notions of honor and dignity. Already up in the mountain, they are expected to pull themselves together to the full, in order to succumb to the will of the leader and forget about the tensions, accumulated among the members of the team. The team of young mountaineers is scaling a difficult summit, but mid-way they are buried by an avalanche. Caught in the deadly vortex, each of the characters relieves the cherished moments of his or her life. Each character illustrates a separate theme. Nayden has to cope with the problems of leadership. Nikifor is his rival, who is destined to be the perennial number two. The Man ho Is Sensitive to Cold is preoccupied with the subject of friendship. Matters that are typically artist absorb the Poet, The Sculptor and the Cameraman.
Cinematography
Actual mountain footage that'll make your toes numb.
Writing
Characters literally named by their single personality trait.
Direction
Two directors somehow made one cohesive hallucination.
Director
Irina Aktasheva
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Made during the dying days of Bulgarian state cinema, when directors could get funding for 2.5-hour experimental mountain allegories. The 1980s Eastern Bloc really said 'yes, and' to everything.
Each character's flashback was reportedly shot by different cinematographers to create visual 'fingerprints'—explaining why the film feels like six movies in a trenchcoat.
BG
