Review: ‘Absurdistan’

‘Absurdistan’ is actually a creatively descriptive title for this movie and, while it doesn’t really tell us what the story is about, it gives us a good indication of the movie’s tone. From the very beginning, we realize that something is just a bit off about this little town and it’s what really makes the movie enjoyable. Aside from that, it’s a charming love story told with an allegorical flair that’s fresh and upbeat.

The story is told from Aya’s (Kristyna Malà ©rovà ¡) point of view as she narrates nearly the entire film. Normally, this would be a major faux pau, but in this case it works well since the movie is such a visually playful and charming work of light and color. Aya and Temelko (Max Mauff) were born on the same date and time in the same little room, but are not siblings. They grow up as best friends, until the age of fourteen when Temelko begins to discover his sexuality and the real journey begins.

In this small isolated village of forgotten people, the women do all the work and the men hold a legendary reputation as being the most  virile in the land. The men of the village spend the majority of their day in the village tea house, waxing philosophical, while the women do the chores. Once the day’s work is done, the men return home to their women and, well… you get the idea.

This entire way of life is centered around the existence of a pipeline which was dangerously installed by the town’s men many years ago to bring the dry village water to survive. When the pipeline runs dry, the women take matters into their own hands and begin a sex strike until the water returns. This results in a bitter feud between the men and women as the men are determined to do anything but work. Meanwhile, Temelko must find a way to restore water to the town on his own if he plans to have his way with Aya, as was foretold in the stars by Aya’s grandmother.

‘Absurdistan’ is part Aesop’s fable and part Romeo and Juliet. It’s a romantic comedy from another land and another culture. It’s a current era film, but it feels like it’s from another time as well. The film gets it’s title from the village’s personality, characters that remind me of Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s ‘Delicatessen’. The music is wonderful, worldly and exotic. The opening sequence, with it’s aerial view of the mountains and the strong music followed by a montage detailing the town’s way of life, manages to set a preliminary tone that helps to establish this odd comical feeling that persists through the story.

One of the elements I found strange about ‘Absurdistan’ was that it appeared to take place in a small Afghanistan village, with Afghan people, but the film was shot in Azerbaijan, told in the Russian language, and produced as a German film. Regardless, the movie works very well and is worth seeing in the theater if you can. ‘Absurdistan’ has a limited theatrical opening in Saint Louis on March 13, 2009.

[Overall: 4 stars out of 5]