Summary
Set against the jagged, unforgiving ridges of the Bulgarian mountains, V noktite na poroka (In the Clutches of Vice) is a stark exploration of how grief can metastasize into cruelty. The film opens on the quiet domesticity of Kalina and Stoyko, a young couple whose initial marital bliss is anchored by the birth of their son. However, the narrative takes a visceral, almost nihilistic turn when a roaming herd of buffaloes tramples the infant—a moment of senseless violence that shatters the family unit. Stoyko’s subsequent descent into alcoholism and domestic battery transforms the home into a site of terror. When Kalina’s brother intervenes, the resulting violence leaves him physically and mentally broken, pushing the story into a dark meditation on guilt and the cyclical nature of rural hardship. As Kalina faces a second, perilous pregnancy, the film questions whether redemption is possible for a man who has already destroyed everything he touched.
Synopsis
A small village in the mountains. The wedding is over. Kalina and Stoyko have started their married life. The young couple leads a quiet life. After a year, a boy is born to them. A passing herd of buffaloes tramples the child to death. In his anguish, Stoyko takes to drinking, neglects his farm and often beats Kalina. Her brother tries to put some sense to him but Stoyko attacks him and pushes him from a high cliff. Kalina's brother loses his mind because of a fall. Kalina expects another child. The news transforms Stoyko. Kalina dies in childbirth. Stoyko leaves alone to look after his son.
