ABSURDISTAN (2008) ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢
D: Viet Helmer
Krystyna Malerova, Maximilian Mauff,
Nino Chkheidze, Ani Amiridze
"Lysistrata" transplanted to a forgotten village in southwest Asia, where the women go on strike till the men do something to repair the town's broken-down water system. Caught in the middle are a pair of literally star-crossed lovers whose relationship can't be consummated if the water crisis isn't resolved in just under a week. Mauff and Malerova bring an appealing, down-to-earth dreaminess to the resourceful young couple, whose destiny is sealed from the start when they're born at the same moment at the local clinic in adjoining beds. Malerova resembles Keira Knightley, if Keira Knightley would eat a meal once in a while, and Mauff has a likeable, gangly quality that anybody who grew up gangly should be able to appreciate. Shooting in Azerbaijan in a visual style that sometimes approximates outdated film stock, Helmer effectively captures the look and feel of a place that time and the rest of the world long ago passed by. Following "Tuvalu" in 2000, this is the second movie he's made in which the primary element driving the story is water. Both are essentially fairy tales, but in a world where the polar ice is melting and a dwindling fresh water supply could trigger future wars, maybe he's onto something.
