Jönsson & Gertten: Long Distance Love
Osh in Kyrgyzstan. Not a place that we have heard much about. The same goes for the people who live there. Who fall in love as everyone (hopefully) does all over the world. However, the problem for the two protagonists, Alisher and Dildora, is that they need money to survive and as there is no work for Alisher in Kyrgyzstan, he leaves for Russia with the help of an agency, that turns out to cheat on him and many others. Low-paid he is and there is not a lot of money going back to Dildora and his parents. While away from home, Dildora gives birth to their child, which does not make the living conditions easier. There is but one solution for Alisher – he must go back home for the sake of mother and child, but also for the ill mother and the silent father, who drinks too much.
Banal theme, yes, but actual and presented in a very sweet way with a straight forward story (sometimes with some huge jumps in time) and told in a sympathetic non-sensational and informative tone, although one could have wished for a more creative camera approach that could have made a good film be a great film.
2008, Sweden, 88 mins.
Will be shown at Cinemateket this coming sunday 17.5 at 14.30, with q&a with Magnus Gertten.
