大象传媒

In the first ten minutes of Latvian drama Krisana, there's a suicide, a scene of mournful chugging on a cigarette and the posing of the question: "What is man?" Oh yes, and it's all in black and white. It's as if writer/director Fred Kelemen is setting up the ultimate parody of European art-house cinema. Unfortunately the only laughs are unintentional in a film that's as much an affectation as the no-brainiest of Hollywood no-brain blockbusters. What is man? Bored, probably.

Kelemen defies convention at every turn, following anti-hero Matiss (Egons Dombrovskis) as he snoops into the private affairs of a young woman (Aija Dzerve) after watching with marked disinterest when she chucks herself off a bridge. It's not much of an investigation as he plods down seemingly endless streets, sits around waiting for photos to be developed and then walks back down the street again...

"MORE ABOUT MOOD THAN ANYTHING ELSE"

Mercifully, Dombrovskis is a compelling presence - a quality highlighted by the stillness. Initially, Kelemen's willingness to linger on seemingly inactive moments is quite powerful, but the technique wears extremely thin - especially when he halts on a still photo! It soon becomes obvious that this drama is more about mood than anything else. The question of why Matiss ignored a woman clearly about to kill herself isn't properly addressed. Instead Kelemen ladles on the tragedy with comic excess, like the sound of a gunshot in a public loo and Matiss raising his eyebrows in weary acceptance. It all comes to a jarring and rather nonsensical conclusion, but then Kelemen might argue, so does life.

In black and white.

In Latvian and Russian with English subtitles.