'The Dreamed Adventure' Review: Grisebach's Slow-Burn Western Set in Bulgarian Bordertown Debuts at Cannes
By
Christian Zilko
9d ago· 7 min readenReview
100/100
Golden Brown
Bagelometer↗
Crisp on the outside, thoughtful on the inside. A keeper.
Score100TypereviewSentimentneutral
Summary
Valeska Grisebach's follow-up to "Western" (2017) is a slow-paced, Eastern European spin on the classic Western genre, set in the desolate Bulgarian bordertown of Svilengrad at the tripoint of Bulgaria, Turkey, and Greece. The film features atmospheric locations and highly specific tensions in a small, isolated community, though the story itself is underwhelming.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledGerman director Valeska Grisebach follows up on 'Western' (2017) with a film that could justifiably have the same name.
Once again she mounts a slow, Eastern Europe-set spin on the classic genre, powered by the highly specific tensions in and around a small desolate town in Svilengrad, a tripoint of Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece.
Long barren roads are illuminated by the distant neon of attractions that no one ever visits.
A bereft Bulgarian bordertown make for an atmospheric location despite the underwhelming story
