The Dreamed Adventure

An archaeologist gets ever more intertwined in the dealings of local gangsters in this understated work from Valeska Grisebach (Western).

As the story unfolds near an archaeological dig on the border between Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey, the transience of such a frontier space becomes apparent in the comings and goings of characters, the significance of memory and past relationships, and the timelessness of found objects.

Most of all, it is Yana Radeva’s performance as the impressive and unshakeable Veska, a middle-aged woman holding her ground in this dusty, arid, and at times intraversable landscape of macho power-play, that explains the film’s deserved success in the European festival circuit this year, including the Jury Prize at Cannes.