"Nebesnye Ženy Lugovykh Mari" (English captions) is a collection of short stories about 23 Marij women whose names start with "O." Their culture is suspended somewhere between magic and realism; we watch them participate in mating rituals, fertility rites, hexes for revenge, spells to restore virility, and a fairly traditional burial. This is only the tip of the iceberg, there are 18 more stories to go! Director Aleksey Fedorchenko moves us along in a non-judgmental way, immersing us in the lives and beliefs of these women with no questions asked.
That some of these rites are "foreign" to the 2013 Seattle International Film Festival screening crowd is an understatement. For example, we see a police officer draw a beaded anti-zombie device, rattle it at a zombie's chest and it works! We see a young woman engage in heavy petting under a birch tree, then fall into a wasting sickness that isn't cured until she goes to the tree and begs forgiveness.
Be prepared for a lot of nudity, forthright talk and a bit of humor. There is not a trace of blowie uppie stuff or gunfire. In fact, I don't think there is even electricity in this fairly primitive culture.
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Interesting preview:
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