Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: CELTS [Berlinale 2021 - Virtual]
Understanding the basis of life and how it is lived through is a consistent theme in many of the films of this year's Berlinale. "Celts" [Panorama], the second film seen at this year's festival from Serbia (the first being "The White Fortress") entitled “Celts” [Panorama] takes an almost "Dinner Party" approach mixed with Kenneth Branagh's "A Winter's Tale" but bordered within and taking place in 1993 as the Bosnian War surged around the now former Yugoslavia. Th media painted the era a certain way but the discussion of politics on the periphery create an interesting picture of who voted for who and that the resulting collapse in certain ways was an inevitability of bad management and believing in people which ended up becoming more deadly and vicious than they had any right to be. But inevitably, in a worst case scenario, this can be human nature. The household the movie follows comes together for the birthday party. All her friends come as Ninja Turtles, her favorite thing, while the adults are getting boozed up on the outskirts (which was a norm in the 70s and 80s]. The gay relationships are played off with beautiful normalcy but are the most flagrant until a late entry action by someone the viewer wouldn't expect goes out on her own with a bit of flair. It makes total sense and lines up with the sense of frustration and pent up energy.
There is also the joy and disconnection that comes out of these interactions at the most unusual of times, whether it is a girl who has a great relationship with her girlfriend but feels empty staring our a window in the kitchen or three women in a row speaking of different things when nothing can be fixed. But the purest of the characters is what connects the threads together and gives it heart even when everyone ignores him. Fica, a young 8 year old with a bowtie who is the odd man out that goes back to see his grandma at the end of the night has the best comedic timing literally in scenes with himself. He spills sauce and tries to clean his clothes but ends up destroying them, knocking out the power with no one paying attention or even helping him and yet he perseveres. It is that metaphor actually that is the most powerful because it shows resilience and the need to survive to show something good. That is what humanity is all about. B
By Tim Wassberg
