The director buried himself. Oh, that mysterious art house! Young filmmakers love to experiment on this field, coming up with more and more sophisticated ideas, but not every one of them is able to make something worthy of an idea.
In the case of Dmitry Sklyarenko’s debut, almost the same trick that was observed when he got acquainted with Evgeny Kostenko’s “Smoking” works: the short film shows itself almost perfectly in form, but not particularly intelligible in content. The calming difference is that Kostenko had a certain pathos in the shown, and Sklyarenko does not. But there is a great claim to mystery and conceptuality. However, conceptuality is remembered, but does not touch at all. After watching, you think a little about what you saw, but rather thereby paying tribute to yourself and your attention than to the director.
It seems that both of these aspiring (if not already finished) Ukrainian filmmakers are in love with Ivan Uzvenchuk, the key figure in both works. And Uzvenchuk, in turn, seems to be in love with himself, which is observed by his unambiguous arrogant expressions practiced in two different, but not the most prominent roles.
Returning to the “Underground”, it is worth saying that due to all these properties, the final impression remains quite mixed. I want more clarity, more love for the viewer and the desire to tell him something, not just love for art house, myself and the camera.
5 out of 10