#vourdalak

I was apprehensive to really dive into any of the concepts concerning gender, sexuality and cultural hegemony vs folk belief. While I do think there's a lot of those elements worth dissecting in the movie, I wondered how much of those perceptions are formed from my own cultural background and lifestyle - As opposed to actually being baked into the film.

Elements such as Piotr's gender expression or Gorcha's suggestive comments (and eventual, direct physical iniquity) towards the Marquee stand out within first viewing. Piotr also involves himself in actions that - at least to my American perspective - feel like something more akin to traditionally womanly roles. This includes taking part in folkloric beliefs and practices, as well as him simply expressing emotional distress. While the Marquee is shown in similar conditions, he glides somewhere between the expected roles of both Jeger and Piotr. His foreigner status and eccentric otherness seems to permit him a fluidity not allowed to the other men... At least for most of the film.

Painted both as a subjugated and illicit action, this never the less weaves a fairly fluid expression given the rigid dynamics within the film. I personally would interpret this as another way to highlight just how stigmatizing and alienating the familial and cultural structures can be for the family. The implication being (at least in my opinion) that their relationship was tenuous at best, and held together at least partially from societal expectation long before the events of the film.

This is seen in other ways too, such as in Anja's open distress that her sister-in-law (Sdenka) is unable to be married off due to her previous indiscretions in the eyes of their community.

I think they do love each other, but would not necessarily like each other in a world where each were strangers. Personally, I believe that is a sentiment that many siblings can attest to. I love my sisters, but we are each so starkly unique that in another world we may have never properly met. At the same time, we are tied together through our shared experiences and - obviously- our family togetherness.

Additionally Gorcha holds an iron grip over his family, allowed to him through cultural tradition and (at least later in the film) fear. This enables him firstly to reenter the home as a monster and later to guide them to their demise. It's only when everything is lost that Jegor is able to reflect and admit what had delivered them to their end. We don't see or hear much of Gorcha's character before the events of the film, so his nature before the film starts is definitely up to interpretation. Was he always a monster, or did becoming one bring out the worst in him?

On a different note - it helps that The Vourdalak itself so physically nice to watch. Filmed on physical film as opposed to digital gives the movie a more classical look, with a graininess (although that could be my monitor as I watched it on my computer) and grit akin to movies from days gone by. In my YouTube review I highlight it's fairytale look, but I would be remiss not to mention how well I think this could work as a theater production. Many shots look like they could be pulled directly from a stage. Sdenka's speech as she explain their father's whereabouts feels almost like a soliloquy. A moment where she is just as trapped in her own thoughts as her family is enraptured in her tale. Likewise this could come from the puppetry element... or maybe just because I love a nice dramatic stage show.

Ultimately, The Vourdalak paints a melancholic and perhaps even bitter narrative that leaves me feeling a bit forlorn. It's a woeful piece of art, with much more going on aside from it's vampiric elements. Expressing a lot in less than 2 hours, it entertained me enough (even after a few rewatches) that I have yet to be truly bored with the film.