We're going to be having many more conversations

Continuing my trip up The Guardian's Top 50 Movies of 2020...

#20 : DAU.Natasha

This two-and-a-half-hour feature, focusing on a canteen worker, carved out of the enormous 15-year DAU project, in which an entire community recreated the day to day life of a Soviet-era research institute.

And we're back to films I've never heard of - not sure I could have handled the excitement of having heard of three films in a row.  But who's not going to be excited about a two-and-a-half-hour feature about a Soviet canteen worker?!?  COUNT ME IN!!!

What?!?  It's not available anywhere?!?  Well, ain't that a shame?!?  I'm gutted, I tell ya.  Ah no - I found it.  Phew...

Now, before we approach this, I have give you some background information on the DAU project - and believe me, you're going to want to sit down for this.  In 2007, the DAU institute was created as a 12,000m² film set in Ukraine and, from 2008-11, a huge number of people lived, worked, ate and slept on the site in period detail, as the time period on site was progressed from 1938 to 1968.  And whilst this was going on, various bits were filmed - some set up, some just whatever people were doing in their role.  And at the end, there were 700 hours of film (which sounds a lot, but it did cover three years) and since then, various films have been created from this archive footage - with this being the latest.  So - how bonkers was all of that then?!?

And the film starts with Natasha working in the canteen as various meals are served to various random customers and it does just feel like you're randomly dropping in on various tables, all of which are completely unconnected.  This is the followed by a bizarre ten minute scene of Natasha and her colleague Olya chatting, drinking and fighting for no obvious reason at all - I have a suspicion that the ability to play the film at double speed is going to come in very handy quite soon.

So the next scene involves naked men going and sitting in a metal pyramid.  You didn't expect that, did you?  And then we move on to a party featuring a lot of the people we've met so far and they're quite obviously drunk - not acting drunk, but just plain drunk (unless they're considerably better actors than they've so far shown themselves to be).  And they're throwing fish around the place - I guess you had to make your own fun back in the USSR (and it was at this point that double speed playback was deployed).  And then there's a surprisingly graphic sex scene which also doesn't appear to feature any simulation (which probably gives you an idea as to how graphic it is)

So, where to go next?  Ah - back to drinking with a 20 minute (of film - I suspect it went on slightly longer in real life) drinking session including vomiting.  Nice.  And then 10 minutes of a drunk Natasha feeling sorry for herself, which looks like it shot in was just a few long takes - so it manages to be both impressive and pointless at the same time.  And then an extremely unpleasant interrogation scene which I can assure you that you REALLY don't want me to describe.  And then an extremely abrupt ending.  All very odd indeed.

Given the film-making process, it's no surprise that the camerawork and lighting are somewhat ropey at times - you get used to it, but sometimes it is a bit disconcerting (particularly when played at double speed).  The acting is, shall we say, variable - Natalia Berezhnaya as Natasha has to do most of work and at times she puts in an impressive performance and other times it just looks like she's got the giggles.  Olga Shkabarnya as Olya is the other main character and she is an impressive drunk, if nothing else.

Thinking about it "very odd" is somewhat understating the matter - especially when you know the history of the project.  It somehow manages to be fascinating, disturbing and boring all at the same time - and given the unpleasantness of a lot of it, I think there are some questions to answer around artistic and personal control, which seems somewhat ironic given the time and the place being portrayed.  This is an interesting article considering the matter further - and I'm really not expecting anyone to read it!  I'm also not expecting anyone to bother watching this film - and I really can't say I blame you.

At the time of writing, the film is only available to rent on the DAU website - but there really are so many better uses of your time.

#21 - Believable plot and characters - whatever next?!?
#19 - A film covering a long period of time