RIGA IFF: Astoņas Bivas ezera ainas

Marko Rāts
Eight scenes of Lake Biwa
Biwa järve 8 nægu
EE
2024, 126', et
Recommended for ages 12 and up Eight viewpoints and the magical, mysterious Peipus water surface. Whispering, only whispering, the local fishermen determine that the flickering lake is supernatural - it is capable of both robbing and protecting human lives. These same waters will bring a tragedy, after which a couple of people will survive. As passions, love, and psyches unleashed by the summer breeze surge, we slip through the lives of the village folk – a fractured community trying to recover, both by unleashing their sexuality and cultivating the practice of silence. Suddenly, the border lake of Estonia throws a bridge to another culture - thousands of kilometers away, connecting it with Lake Biwa in Japan, and everything seems to be one and inseparable. Everyone here is looking for something that can never be found.

Following the Japanese eight-part painting that came from Ancient China, the mystical story unfolding in as many episodes immerses the viewer more and more deeply. Dressed in the magical universe of Estonian director Raat ("Snow Queen" (2010) shown in Latvia), this drama of symbols, premiered at the Rotterdam Film Festival, brings Estonia closer to Japan, the West to the East, the real to the surreal, the visible to the intuitive and the logical to the irrational. In this Brechtian and twist-filled rebuke, which is atmospherically close to Atom Egoyan's brilliant work of the 90s "Sweet Aftertaste" (1997), the mise-en-scenes are filled with existential poignancy based on geography and ancient wisdom. The film's fishing community, full of sin and living without morality, is found in fairy tales that are deeply rooted in the heritage of European peoples.

Recommended age: 12+
Screen language: Estonian
Subtitle language: English
Synchronous translation: Latvian
Session duration: 126 min
Place for a wheelchair: yes

On the AllEvents portal you can always Buy tickets to an event Cinema RIGA IFF: Astoņas Bivas ezera ainas, Rīga, Kino Splendid Palace October 25

* The description translation is done automatically. There may be inaccuracies. Be sure to check the event description on the ticket store website when buying tickets.