In short, the movie tells a story of girl chosen to be the bride of god. Nothing much really happens, so I better not tell more, as just about anything would count as a spoiler.
Nenets people are still living on the Russian tundra, eating reindeer's and living in movable camps. They don't have much interaction with western civilization, and therefore one must not watch this movie as we watch our everyday movies and TV-shows. These people have barely heard of a movie, and their way of telling stories is completely different to ours. Honestly; As a movie of western standards, this would be quiet boring and mediocre in acting and directing.
It helped a lot to hear Markku Lehmuskallio, a researcher of the Nenets to tell about the everyday life and traditions of the culture. One really has to try to see the movie in their perspective to get something out of it. One must remember that the actors are real nenets people. They have not seen the development of movie expression that has created the modern standards during the last decades, it is completely new for them to act for a camera. Therefore I must say that the directors have done pretty good work.
I must admit I had some trouble concentrating on the movie... and I was in the premier. It goes veeery slowly. Afterwards I felt to have learned something important though. "Jumalan morsian" is an interesting journey in a world completely different, and gives us a glimpse of the Nenets lifestyle, religion and culture altogether. The movie can really not be graded, but I compromise to 7/10.
Nenets people are still living on the Russian tundra, eating reindeer's and living in movable camps. They don't have much interaction with western civilization, and therefore one must not watch this movie as we watch our everyday movies and TV-shows. These people have barely heard of a movie, and their way of telling stories is completely different to ours. Honestly; As a movie of western standards, this would be quiet boring and mediocre in acting and directing.
It helped a lot to hear Markku Lehmuskallio, a researcher of the Nenets to tell about the everyday life and traditions of the culture. One really has to try to see the movie in their perspective to get something out of it. One must remember that the actors are real nenets people. They have not seen the development of movie expression that has created the modern standards during the last decades, it is completely new for them to act for a camera. Therefore I must say that the directors have done pretty good work.
I must admit I had some trouble concentrating on the movie... and I was in the premier. It goes veeery slowly. Afterwards I felt to have learned something important though. "Jumalan morsian" is an interesting journey in a world completely different, and gives us a glimpse of the Nenets lifestyle, religion and culture altogether. The movie can really not be graded, but I compromise to 7/10.
