Karl Brunner: A strangely quiet artifact

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, it depends on how much patience you have for movies that operate on their own wavelength. If you’re looking for a plot that hits you over the head with meaning, walk away. But if you want to see what people were trying to do with a camera back in the day, this is a weirdly fascinating watch.

It’s definitely not for the casual Friday night crowd. People who prefer the snap of Come and Get It are going to find this one moves like a glacier. But there’s something here that’s hard to look away from, even when nothing is really happening.

The rhythm of the thing

The pacing is… well, it’s not really pacing. It’s more like a series of moments that just exist next to each other. Sometimes a scene ends before you’ve realized it started. Other times, the camera just sits there, watching someone walk across a room, and you’re left wondering if the projector skipped a beat.

Leva Kirkopulo has this specific way of looking at the floor during the second act that felt so real I almost forgot I was watching a film. It’s these tiny, messy details that make the whole thing stick in your brain. It’s not polished. It’s not clean. It’s just there.

Small things that caught my eye

• There’s a door in the background of the kitchen scene that never quite shuts properly. It rattles every time someone walks by. It was the only thing I could focus on for like three minutes.
• The lighting in the scene with Mikhail Khorosh is so dim you basically have to squint to see his expression. Maybe that was the point? Or maybe they just ran out of lights.
• The way the music suddenly cuts out in the middle of a sentence? It’s jarring. It’s kind of great.

I wouldn't compare this to The Street of Seven Stars, even if they share some of the same DNA. This feels grittier, almost like it was filmed in a drafty apartment where the coffee was cold. It lacks the professional sheen of a studio project, which is exactly why I didn't turn it off.

There’s a moment near the end where the main character just stops talking. He just looks out the window for what feels like an hour. It’s probably only thirty seconds, but the silence is heavy. It’s the kind of choice that would get cut in a modern edit, but here it stays. It makes the whole thing feel a bit more human.

Ultimately, don’t look for a lesson. Don’t look for a message. Just watch the way the light hits the wall and think about why they decided to frame the shot that way. It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s definitely a movie that exists. 🎞️