DIRECTOR: IOANE BOBEICA
STARRING: ANATOL MIRZENCO, TINCUTA JOSAN, NICOLAE CERNOMAZ
RUNNING TIME: 1 HR 15 MINUTES
In a poor village near the Transnistrian border, after the war of 1992, there is a mined field, still active. Zinca and Victor, two Moldavian children suddenly lose their cows on the mined territory and their families try to get them back.
STARRING: ANATOL MIRZENCO, TINCUTA JOSAN, NICOLAE CERNOMAZ
RUNNING TIME: 1 HR 15 MINUTES
In a poor village near the Transnistrian border, after the war of 1992, there is a mined field, still active. Zinca and Victor, two Moldavian children suddenly lose their cows on the mined territory and their families try to get them back.
FILM REVIEW:
(This review contains spoilers.)
“God is getting mad again.”
Thunders is the International Feature submission for Moldova. Transnistria is an unrecognized state, which is internationally considered to be a part of Moldova. It’s a narrow strip of land between the Dniester River and the Moldovan-Ukrainian border. A war broke out in the early 1990s between Moldova and Russian-aided Transnistrian separatists. Due to the armed conflict, several areas on both banks of the Dniester River were mined. Despite a peaceful settlement in 1992, these areas remained undermined. Everyday in an 85 hectare area, near the town of Pohrebea, the villagers live day to day in fear for their lives.
The film is set sometime after the war. Ten year old Zinca, along with her father and brother live an extremely simple life in the countryside. Their life revolves around working in the woods, in the fields taking care of their horses and cows, and living off the bare necessities. Zinca doesn’t attend school, and she helps alongside her family with the daily chores. When a new family moves next door, Zinca begins to form a relationship with a boy named Victor. His family is wealthy and despite his growing friendship with Zinca, his parents forbid him to hang out with her. This is mostly due to her being lower class. But despite their objections they spend everyday together picking cherries, riding Victor’s bike, and hanging out in each other’s houses.
One day, Zinca’s precious cow wanders into the mined pasture past the barb-wired fence. As the cow is pregnant and feeds her family, she desperately wanders into the field alongside Victor to rescue her. What unfolds next is a harrowing nerve-racking non-linear story that begins to shed a light on both diverse families, their upbringings, their hopes and dreams, and their goals for the future. Zinca’s father just wants her to be healthy, to grow up, and to be happy. But in a deserted and abandoned village, with mines surrounding the town, their survival is beginning to be extremely difficult. But this is the only life they’ve ever known.
Thunders examines the rampant prejudices that exist today. It showcases a tiny part in our world unknown to most people, who for eight years had to endure a life filled with fear without any help from anyone. It’s a society who blames a lack of money for the reason why they’re unable to help clear the areas filled with memories from a past war that they caused and that the villagers didn’t want. The film is a call for unity in this divided world where the poor need to be seen as equals as the rich, where the uneducated are the same as those who are educated. It’s a film of humanity, of love, of a life that hasn’t evolved to the ever changing world.
Do you know why there are thunders when it rains? It’s because the cold clouds bump into warm clouds causing thunderstorms. It underscores the fact that death is part of the natural order, and it’s a frightening occurrence brought by things beyond human control. This is the life for the remaining people in Pohrebea.
REVIEW: B+
(This review contains spoilers.)
“God is getting mad again.”
Thunders is the International Feature submission for Moldova. Transnistria is an unrecognized state, which is internationally considered to be a part of Moldova. It’s a narrow strip of land between the Dniester River and the Moldovan-Ukrainian border. A war broke out in the early 1990s between Moldova and Russian-aided Transnistrian separatists. Due to the armed conflict, several areas on both banks of the Dniester River were mined. Despite a peaceful settlement in 1992, these areas remained undermined. Everyday in an 85 hectare area, near the town of Pohrebea, the villagers live day to day in fear for their lives.
The film is set sometime after the war. Ten year old Zinca, along with her father and brother live an extremely simple life in the countryside. Their life revolves around working in the woods, in the fields taking care of their horses and cows, and living off the bare necessities. Zinca doesn’t attend school, and she helps alongside her family with the daily chores. When a new family moves next door, Zinca begins to form a relationship with a boy named Victor. His family is wealthy and despite his growing friendship with Zinca, his parents forbid him to hang out with her. This is mostly due to her being lower class. But despite their objections they spend everyday together picking cherries, riding Victor’s bike, and hanging out in each other’s houses.
One day, Zinca’s precious cow wanders into the mined pasture past the barb-wired fence. As the cow is pregnant and feeds her family, she desperately wanders into the field alongside Victor to rescue her. What unfolds next is a harrowing nerve-racking non-linear story that begins to shed a light on both diverse families, their upbringings, their hopes and dreams, and their goals for the future. Zinca’s father just wants her to be healthy, to grow up, and to be happy. But in a deserted and abandoned village, with mines surrounding the town, their survival is beginning to be extremely difficult. But this is the only life they’ve ever known.
Thunders examines the rampant prejudices that exist today. It showcases a tiny part in our world unknown to most people, who for eight years had to endure a life filled with fear without any help from anyone. It’s a society who blames a lack of money for the reason why they’re unable to help clear the areas filled with memories from a past war that they caused and that the villagers didn’t want. The film is a call for unity in this divided world where the poor need to be seen as equals as the rich, where the uneducated are the same as those who are educated. It’s a film of humanity, of love, of a life that hasn’t evolved to the ever changing world.
Do you know why there are thunders when it rains? It’s because the cold clouds bump into warm clouds causing thunderstorms. It underscores the fact that death is part of the natural order, and it’s a frightening occurrence brought by things beyond human control. This is the life for the remaining people in Pohrebea.
REVIEW: B+
