The announcement of this film as prepared by the Rotterdam filmfestival 2011, promised that something dramatic would make an end to the sleepiness in the village where nothing important ever happens. That was the storyline that I was expecting. I missed that turn around event, hence been left behind disappointed.
The main characters are introduced one by one. That is done very sketchy without giving away relevant circumstances they live in, or even without telling their name up front. That would not have bothered me as long as the promised event was indeed planned to become the center of things, after which the people around that event would start changing around it. I waited in vain.
Two examples to illustrate the above. The film starts when someone new enters the village. No one asks what she is doing there, not even her name. How are we to supposed to know what her purpose is or her background?? Conversely, the end of the film shows someone leaving, with tears clearly showing. Nothing can be deduced from the earlier events why she leaves, and not even her tears can be explained from the little we know about her.
All in all, the musical score got me through the 122 minutes, as well as the many nice shots of the environment. I've never been in such a village, but I have all reasons to assume that it is pictured truthfully. But it is not enough to recommend this film to anyone.
