Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: NATURAL LIGHT [Berlinale 2021 - Virtual]

The reflection of choice and duty is a consistent bedfellow in the simple and gritty "Natural Light" [Competition] which follows a corporal in the Soviet Army during World War II as they scour the countryside trying to draw out partisans. The interesting thing is that line of dissidents was always a fine one depending who the Soviets were aligned with. This story follows a closed loop of a man, formerly a farmer, thrusts into a leadership role who comes under fire before getting bunched into a bit of a corner. The beautiful thing about the film is watching both the horror and the helplessness in a way of this character as he simply tries to survive and return to his family one last time. And yet his forces at times are ruining the lives of others that might be innocents, despite the fact they might be hiding rebellion members. Definitive scenes reflect this such as a family asking for water but it is also the grime of sludging without a destination and reacting to what they find that is the most dynamic.

"Natural Light" is a very subdued film. It feels like life on a frontier with many of the people sent to defend its borders simply wanting to go back home but unable to do so without incurring the wrath above. The corporal is a man of few worlds and almost of less visual action. In his face at one point on the field standing across from his superior, he seems almost ready to cry but the emotion never comes through. This juxtaposed with the turning point that breaks the back of a village (seemingly through a bad call) simply shows the randomness that war creates.

The movie was made in Latvia (like IFF Rotterdam's "The Year Before The War" which was set before WWI). There is a motivation of interesting reflection especially with the current filmmaking voices finally able with resources to tell stories of Eastern Europe from the last century that give interesting perspectives of how the system both encouraged and repelled depending on the person. The farmer/corporal here along with many of his soldiers simply become part of machine unfortunately, and they too must survive. The motif of a bear story told later in the film distinctifies that with a texture point as does the skinning of a moose for food during winter at the inset of the film. "Natural Light" is about laying bare but still being aware what lurks in the shadows. B

By Tim Wassberg