I must admit that I had no idea what to expect, only knowing beforehand what I had read in the synopsis of this film as presented in the brochure of the Ghent Film Festival 2010. I was assuming a lot of emphasis on the local musical instruments and the musicians, but that was not what I experienced. Please do not consider these words as a disappointment, rather the contrary.
There are three fully separated stories, having nothing in common but the format. The basic ingredient is the minstrel (bard), accompanied by a small instrumental group, who connects subsequent scenes, and also gives hints what the moral of the story is. The latter reminds me of the parables that we know from the New Testament.
Be prepared that the developments are rather slow, much slower than we are used to nowadays, but still not too slow to get bored. Good camera work, good acting, good casting, all of this adds to the conclusion that I was positively surprised, after all. Musicians and their instruments did not get in the way of the stories that were told. That does not mean, however, that they could be left out without missing the local touch that is fundamental for this film.
We see three very different environments where the stories unfold, all three of them very different from our own. In my opinion this is an extra feature of this movie, adding to my overall positive experience. It gives the feeling that we got some insight in those other worlds, with very different customs and social order. I'm sure that I could not possibly live there, but it lets you think twice about our hasty way of life, and the challenges we seem to seek voluntarily.
There are three fully separated stories, having nothing in common but the format. The basic ingredient is the minstrel (bard), accompanied by a small instrumental group, who connects subsequent scenes, and also gives hints what the moral of the story is. The latter reminds me of the parables that we know from the New Testament.
Be prepared that the developments are rather slow, much slower than we are used to nowadays, but still not too slow to get bored. Good camera work, good acting, good casting, all of this adds to the conclusion that I was positively surprised, after all. Musicians and their instruments did not get in the way of the stories that were told. That does not mean, however, that they could be left out without missing the local touch that is fundamental for this film.
We see three very different environments where the stories unfold, all three of them very different from our own. In my opinion this is an extra feature of this movie, adding to my overall positive experience. It gives the feeling that we got some insight in those other worlds, with very different customs and social order. I'm sure that I could not possibly live there, but it lets you think twice about our hasty way of life, and the challenges we seem to seek voluntarily.