Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: TZAREVNA SCALING [Berlinale 2021 - Virtual]
Russian filmmakers have always had the ability to create an essence of magical realism that seems integrated with their history. Director Uldus Bakhtiozina, who herself alone shot, costumed, did makeup and directed most of her new short feature "Tzarevna Scaling" creates a work of art that is slipshod at times, a work of beauty but also in progress, visually stunning and yet stilted in a way. What all these things do despite anything is make it original. Like Leos Carax or even Peter Greenaway at a different level, the texture of the reflection in her images, forced perspective and acting choice, both within the beauty myth, religion and philosophy, play into the idea here. The film is experimental, no doubt about that but the intention behind it is vivid. The characters are particular while not being exhaustive. Bakhtiozina is trying to affect a perception between generations which she does by showing old older Tzarevnas wielding apples like weapons or men doing an interpretative dance to a rap dressed as sheep.
The essence of female power but the posing nature of it which still obviously ingratiates itself into Russian culture in post Soviet years really provides an interesting point of view. And especially with someone as specific as Bakhtiozina who still is competing in a Russian film industry that is still very male dominated. The film also plays to class structure. With the grills in the teeth and certain music choices, the influence of a pop culture mindset ("Royals" by Lorde comes to mind) belies a subtleness of esteem structure with the working class wanting more and deserving more. The idea of who we are but how we must be trained in a way to achieve greater things and succeed is also a consistent metaphor in the film. Polina played by Alina Korol is the focal point of the story. She is a fisherman's daughter and runs a fish food truck. She is given tea bags by an old made up lady which sends her to be evaluated to be a tzarevna (a Tzar's daughter). This path leads her down a rabbit hole to be trained as a Tzarevna but she must go through different levels of vetting before she arrives at the final test. It could simply be her subconscious trying to deal with hallucinogens. The movie also does have incessant bouts of humor that simply border on the absurd or are absurd. But it points to this girl wanting to be someone more but the journey, whether imagine or internal, just seems tos say "Be more confident and fortune will find you." B-
By Tim Wassberg
