‘We Hear Music and Think of You’.
Surviving Earth is written and directed by Thea Gajic, tells the story of Vlad, a Slovak refugee who fled Yugoslavia during the conflict of the 1990s and settled in Bristol. A talented harmonica player who works as a counsellor, his band ‘Balkan Express’ are on the verge of success in the local music scene.
However, past traumas and addictions come back to haunt Vlad threatening the solid work he has done and threatening the peace he has found in the relationship with his daughter.
A quite illuminating film experience, a low budget film that is shot beautifully and technically sound – the relationships between Vlad and his band-mates feel authentic, the problems feel realistic. This is a knowing and well written film capably performed by a strong cast led by Slavko Sobin as Vlad and Olive Gray (one to watch out for) as his daughter, Maria.
The setting of Bristol, a small yet vital city on the outskirts of the big metropolitans, is central to the film’s premise with the underground art cultural scene in full flow. The cinematography of Olan Collardy (Rye Lane) makes the small city look picturesque and enticing.
This is a nuanced film touching upon feelings of insecurity, belonging in a community that is not your own, the ageing man and father in the modern day society. The use of folk music brought up to the present day is symptomatic of the current craving for nostalgia or simpler times in our world amidst the ongoing AI/tech boom that we live in fear of daily.
Shot with such care and with Vlad reminded us of British archetypes – notably, the angry young man from the 1960s – when ambition and the clamour to be better still resonates in this confusing age. Vlad yearns to be better than himself but he cannot get out of his own way at times and the guilt he feels for fleeing his homeland and not willing to return to see his ageing mother.
Funded by the BFI, distributed by Metis Films this is a film that speaks to the need for stories about the working class and refugee experience in this country.
This is a reminder that addiction and insecurity are universal themes, they are not exclusive to the first world, anglo-saxon experience – problems have a tendency to find you in any walk of life. The scene in the car when he breaks down after letting his daughter’s expectations down again is an expressive explosion of his troubles, highlighting Sobin’s stellar performance as Vlad, a role that demands our empathy but also realise when he is being a difficult soul.
Heartfelt and honest, this film will garner a response in all who see it; the only hope is that it finds that audience in cinemas and home release.
Surviving Earth is out on limited release from 24th April.
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