Mostieties
Laila Pakalniņa
Latvia | 2000 | 22 min
Language : Latvian
Subtitle : English
The world seen through the eyes of children. The action takes place in Karosta, the former military port of Liepaja city – however, it is not that important, as the film could take place anywhere. We observe children playing on the beach, revealing the core of Pakalnina’s work: perceiving and transmitting emotions.
We wake up from a dark frame, listening to children speaking softly. The camera follows them, at their height, while they play on the beach, discuss bears and rabbits, run around. The static, silent adult world is counterpointed by their vitality and their fearless desire to sing. “Possibly among all my personal films this is my most personal. I was stopped in preproduction of my unrealized feature film Tusya (it was the film that was supposed to follow Kurpe) and I felt myself totally destroyed. I couldn’t even force myself to think about films. I had a feeling this period lasted for 100 years (in reality it was only year or a bit more). Through Mostieties I returned to films. Wake Up is the title of the film. Most probably it is as it is because these were the words I needed to tell myself at that stage of my life. And yes, I really woke up.” Laila Pakalnina
