Erotic Latvian Feature Film MONA (2012)

The Saturday evening of 21 April had announced itself as an unbelievably warm and sunny one, so only some dozen viewers had come to the Forum Cinemas hall to watch the film "Mona." I must say, the decision to see this film was made on impulse, even though the titles in the media had been intriguing - erotic cinema, "16+", Latvia's own "Twin Peaks," imagined love, a modern fairy tale for adults, and so on. The film's video trailer said nothing about the plot, but surprised with high-quality visual imagery - an ancient manor, blood, naked bodies, slaughtered carcasses.

The film's action takes place in a small Latvian town where the inhabitants' main source of income is a slaughterhouse. A businessman from Riga, Toms (played by Lithuanian actor Sauļus Balandis), arrives in an elegant Bentley for his uncle's funeral, catches sight of the local girl Mona (played by Latvian actress Kristīne Belicka) and no longer thinks of returning to Riga, nor of his business, nor of his wife. The previously peaceful lives of several small-town residents are turned upside down. Passion, mysticism, animal instincts and humanly fragile experiences merge into one whole.

As a result, the weakest (not physically) link in the love triangle - the slaughterhouse worker Hanss (played by Latvian actor Lauris Subatnieks) - perishes. Meanwhile his Russian colleague (played by Russian theatre and film actor Valērijs Jaremenko), a diligent worker, a reasonably hardy drinker and a pragmatist by nature, wins Mona for his wife through that same pragmatic shrewdness - it is hard for a woman alone in a small town. Here there is no longer talk of feelings, passions or any subtle matters.

Director Ināra Kolmane's feature film "Mona" was made at the film studio "Deviņi" in collaboration with an Icelandic film company. Original music performed by Icelandic musicians also features in the film. The film was shot mainly in the area around Cēsis, though in some episodes a house from Kuldīga, the exterior of Zvārtava Castle and the interior of Stāmeriena Castle are visible. A real slaughterhouse is also featured in the film.

There is no simple answer to what this film is really about - whether a classic love triangle, social class differences, or the witchlike mysterious nature of woman that lures men to the edge of a cliff and the unwary fall... I liked director Ināra Kolmane's own answer: "...it is about that mystery, that chemistry that happens between people. What happens when we are friends, what happens when we are passionately drawn to someone, and what happens when we love. How much are we prepared to sacrifice? Often routine takes over what people have been striving for through the centuries - freedom in their feelings, thoughts and decisions."

I in turn am filled with a certain pride that one Latvian film has been made at such a high quality level, characterised by a long-lasting aftertaste. What appealed most was precisely the play with the human senses. Visual imagery - the flooded ancient manor room, surrounded by candlelight; what could be more romantic? The stark slaughterhouse scenes - splashes of blood, split carcasses. Smell - apple blossom, dew in the grass, damp earth, a dust-laden room. Touch - spilled sugar on which one can seemingly accidentally draw symbols that mean nothing, or perhaps a great deal; shattered glass on the floor; the road gravel under bare feet; bodies touching, a caress. Taste - alcohol, blood, herbal tea, ripened cherries, rainwater.

I liked the unaffectedness of human nature - the animal, the brutal, the unfathomable longing of the soul, and the banally quotidian. Hmm, eroticism - that is probably the right word for the character of this film's presentation. I recommend watching it!

Sources used: imdb.com; monathefilm.com; facebook.com/MonaTheFilm; diena.lv/kd/kino; publicity photos.