BERLINALE 2021 - Стоп-Земля (Stop-Zemlia)
BERLINALEKateryna Gornostai's Stop-Zemlia is as close as the teenage experience through narrative form as any audience will see. Yet, as close to the bone as it is, Gornostai's film is a refreshing and organic authentication of being young, including the might, trouble and terror that younger years encompass, yet it’s made with genuine passion and warmth.
Getting the obvious out the way first, Gornostai's film is a masterpiece. No ifs, buts or maybes, this is one of the most potent and authentic tales in the cinematic universe that showcases youth. Forget the hyperbole of Skins, Gornostai's feature strips itself of ridiculousness and exaggeration, focusing on the horror of the mundane and stress of the unimportant.This includes the effects of friendship, family, love, drugs, university, sex, desire, and so on.
Kateryna Gornostai's film being a debut feature is impressive enough, but not only does the writer and director showcase remarkable depth and layers to a relatively sizeable ensemble cast, they also incorporate a documentarian aesthetic; such an aesthetic internalises the feelings of its characters and broods the empathy of each occuring circumstance. This technique establishes emotions, including that of internal character sequences that otherwise might be too indulgent to the average viewer.
Nevertheless, the aesthetic of a documentary equally adds a rich tapestry to authenticate the characters as if they were real people. The depth Gornostai allocates to the performers at hand is significant enough, but this reinforcement only doubles up for the more emotional sequences of laughter and deep sadness. The two parameters are dealt with and curated in utter perfection. While this feature does touch on some dark and heavy themes, Gornostai does so with honesty. Nothing is exploitative thematically or visually. All are reinforced in an organic manner which feels authentic to the event and nature that is on screen.
The performances are nothing short of outstanding. As aforementioned, each technique, from aesthetic to writing, is constantly brooding and evolving. The cherry on the cake is the ensemble cast, with not one performance feeling overdone or underbaked. Each respective character adds weight to the overall story. While Gornostai's film primarily focuses on a central trio, it is no doubt a collection piece that, together, crafts a spark for all to give life to each other, which undoubtedly prospers.
If anything, the running time of just over two hours might be a little challenging for an audience, considering Gornostai does pace this feature relatively slowly.However, it is an advertent and conscious depiction that allows character to brood and for themes to hit a little harder. Yet, that's what makes this feature all the more extraordinary, placing the viewer back into those years of being young, full of life but without direction. It's an arduous task to sit through and have the inescapable fear of watching someone make those same mistakes or choose the right ones certain viewers might not have made, but that very humanisation, which cuts so deep, makes this debut feature all the more beautiful.
