Waste of time

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Since the beginning of cinema, as science, art and philosophy many filmmakers have been attempting to explore the human soul. Very few have achieved to go even close to the truth. Paradoxically when filmmakers achieved this gigantic and unthinkable mission sharing it with the audience they in the best case become recognized and appreciated after their death.The Island is a bold and very brave attempt from Kamen Kalev and everybody who helped him to meditate on what is deep inside us, the foremost within us. The film brings us into a condition of watchfulness where you are not entertained by the plot, there are many flaws into the film's structure and even narration and exactly these flaws make the film so unique and powerful. This film is for meditative people, who have at least one time in their life closed their eyes and breath with awareness. Brilliant!!!

Bulgarian screenwriter and director Kamen Kalev's second feature film which he also wrote and co-produced with Anguel Christanov and Fredrik Zander, is a Bulgarian-Swedish co-production which was shot in Paris, France and on various locations in Bulgaria. It tells the story about Daneel and Sophie, a happy young couple who lives in Paris, France. In order to get a break from their everyday life in the city they have decided to take a vacation. Sophie has arranged everything for them and is looking forward to surprise Daneel, but when they arrive at the airport and Daneel learns that they are traveling to Bulgaria, he freaks out and begins to tell Sophie things that she didn't know. Finely directed by Kamen Kalev and notable for it's ardent naturalistic milieu depictions and the compelling cinematography by Bulgarian cinematographer Julian Atanassov, this humorous and insightful tale draws an invariably engaging portrayal of two young lovers who while vacationing on an idyllic Island discovers new things about themselves and one another. Impelled by it's colorful characters, this philosophical and well-paced independent film which is superbly written and narrated depicts an extraordinary study of character about a young man's astounding catharsis. Examining themes such as interpersonal relations, self-discovery and coming-of-age, this atmospheric and life-affirming love-story is reinforced by it's quick-witted dialog, Danish actor Thure Lindhardt's exceptional acting performance and the fine acting performances by French actress Laetita Casta and Chilean actor, screenwriter and director Alejandro Jodorowsky. A charismatic, romantic, adventurous and exhilarating fictional story about a capricious relationship.

I went to see this movie with a pretty large group of people. Everyone liked the director's previous work, everyone had seen the trailer and was fairly excited for the film. Afterwards- 3 out of 27 people liked it.I was one of them. The others were blindly mouthing things like "Complete trash", "so boring", "pointless". Although my simple solution to the question why nobody liked it IS "because they're idiotic", additionally I have to say that perhaps if you're someone who has never even asked himself who he is, just goes to the gym, hangs out, works and yes, goes to the cinema- then I'm sorry, not only did you not get what the movie is about but it was like the Forbidden Land to you. The movie is amazing, it's just very different. And exactly this makes me completely crazy about it, as well as it makes most people dislike it. Yes, it doesn't even follow a strict plot, yes, it moves kind of slowly, but after all the idea is exceptional. It's not about cancer, or war, or love, it's about what's inside a person, how he identifies himself or more- how society does it for him and he's left questioning everything, from who his parents are to his daily mood. Very rarely are movies like this made and I think it's freaking insulting and shameful to give it such a low rating, while some horrible BG movies like the disgrace to art Love.net have over 8.

Although I do not watch Bulgarian films as a rule, I went to see this one,perhaps in the hope that it would have been better. Of late some Bulgarian TV series have led me to reconsider my negative view of Bulgarian cinema. What a disappointment!This film continues to have the typical weaknesses of Bulgarian cinema. Here are all the things I dislike so strongly:the maddeningly slow pace,the pretentiousness, the pseudo-psychologism and pseudo-philosophical depth,the primitive dialogs,the confused and totally unconvincing plots,the inability to tell a coherent story--yes, they are all here! As if the film had been made in, say, 1985 or earlier. It starts as a drama but somewhere in the middle it suddenly and unexpectedly turns into a satirical comedy. Not to mention the numerous interruptions in the story: dreams, memories or symbols all messed up in a hodgepodge without the authors bothering to explain and to clarify what is what. The trick to use two international stars ( Lindhardt and Casta ) to save the film will not do. They can't save it! And the beautiful landscapes cannot make up with everything else, alas! I watched Mr. Kalev's previous film too ( Eastern Plays) but I did not like it either. It is more of a documentary rather than a piece of art. I am not going to watch his third film whatever it is!