“Improvizers” is a film from the competition program of the forty-first MIFF. Of course, to expect something good from the festival, where the chairman of the jury was appointed Kim Ki-duk, who, after his last picture, generally close to the evaluation of works is not worth it, it made no sense. But that everything would be so bad - I confess I did not expect.
Improvizers is a prime example of a film having nothing but plot and idea, particularly talent. From the picture could be very entertaining short film. For the idea itself is interesting: to weave the fates of a famous folk ballad performer, a man who believes that if he does good deeds, his girlfriend will come out of a coma, as well as an anonymous vigilante who is being hunted. What killed the Improvizers? It is difficult to answer unequivocally - there are problems in almost every frame.
Stretching. Each scene is artificially stretched to the point of unrealism. Stumping into the wall, "expressive" to look at each other, with a smart look to sit on the pavement, waiting for no one knows what - by the middle of the film it all begins to be incredibly infuriating. This point can also include the so-called "humour". It is based on the scheme “the more times the joke is repeated, the more it will become funnier.” How can you joke for five minutes about how the soup made by a fan does not taste good? Five minutes! The creators clearly have a tick on the stretching of time.
For n years at the Film Institute, filmmakers have not learned even such a simple thing as staging fights, and there are a lot of them in The Improvizers. Our avenger often has to fight against the crowd. It's complicated. Especially when the crowd is attacking you. But the hero is attacked, as a rule, by two people, others, like patients of a mental hospital, standing in the background, swaying and shaking from side to side. Of course, we did not come here for choreography fights. But why are there so many? And in general, it is also an indicator of respect for the viewer.
The picture is full of illogical actions of the characters. Here's the most striking example. A normal person, when kidnapped, either panics and yells, or tries to figure out what the kidnappers want. In "Improvizers" the hero is completely on the drum. The situation seems to be a problem.
Another sore spot is the soundtrack. It looks like he spelled it that way. The violinist played his instrument while the composer was beating his head against the synthesizer. There is no other way to explain this ugly cacophony. The creators are far from music. We have a folk ballad performer here. In the music of the most seedy folk metal or folk rock band "people's" more than in the music of the hero. Add to the usual pop intro from some "Kung Fu panda" for fifteen seconds - it's not folk or ethnic, I'm sorry.
Actors. Only the actress plays well as the kidnapper. The rest of you. How to call it milder... How can Asian actors overplay? It's hard, but they did.
What's the moral? She's not. The pseudo-arthouse as it is. It is a pity that such a movie could pass the competition.
3 out of 10