To Get To Heaven First You Have To Die [DVD]

After having had a stressful day, I was in dire need of a `no brainer' piece of entertainment. Nothing too heavy man! Perhaps a title like "To Get to Heaven First You Have to Die," should have set the alarm bells ringing, but if it did I must have slept through them. As you may have guessed this was not the easiest of films to get to grips with, and is the sort of film that may well divide opinion. But either way it is certainly something a bit different from the norm. I suppose it would be best described as a bit of Tajik art house film noir.

The film is set in Tajikistan, another far flung province of Russia where the director Djamshed Usmanov happens to hail from. No Borat jokes please! It concerns a young man who has embarrassingly been unable to consummate his marriage. He therefore heads to the bright city lights in the hope of gaining the necessary experience. This puts our Tajik country boy in contact with a few undesirables, one of whom registers dangerously high on the Richter scale of undesirability. The lad gets into ever deepening and very dangerous water.

Whilst the film certainly has an unusual setting in Asiatic Russia, it does not really deliver on the entertainment factor, or on the interesting message front. The film makes rather uncomfortable viewing at times, especially when the young man begins to stalk women. Some people may find this a little disturbing. The film begins on a theme of one mans frustrated sexual neurosis, and then morphs into something altogether even more sinister, as violent crime and murder enter into the story. The films lead actor Khurched Golibekov, does well for someone with no acting experience. Perhaps this rawness accounted for his look of blank bewilderment as he gets sucked deeper into a whirlpool of headaches. I must be honest here and say that the film did not do a lot for me. It is just too austere and dark a picture for my taste. Perhaps I should have just watched "Where Eagles Dare" again!

Tajik screenwriter, producer and director Djamshed Usmonov`s third feature film which he wrote, premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 59th Cannes International Film Festival in 2006, was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 31st Toronto International Film Festival in 2006, at the 30th Gothenburg International Film Festival in 2007 and is a France-Germany-Switzerland-Russia-Tajikistan co-production which was produced by French producer Marie Masmonteil, French producer Denis Carot and screenwriter and producer Robert Boner. It tells the story about Kamal, a 20-year-old man who is living in an unconsummated marriage that has made him question his manhood. After seeing a doctor who assures him that nothing is wrong with him, Kamal travels from the country to the city to find himself a woman and on a bus he meets Vera whom he takes a liking to, but who turns out to be a married factory worker.

Finely and engagingly directed by Tajik filmmaker Djamshed Usmonov, this quietly paced fictional tale which is narrated from the protagonist`s point of view, draws a rare portrayal of a young man who when setting out to find a woman who can take his virginity ends up in a far more troubling situation than he initially expected. While notable for it`s gritty and naturalistic milieu depictions, fine production design by production designer Maslodov Farotsatshoev, cinematography by cinematographer Pascal Lagriffoul and realism, this character-driven and narrative-driven indie neo-noir depicts a dense study of character and contains a humorous score by composer Pierre Aviat.

This slightly existentialistic and suspenseful coming-of-age tale from the mid-2000s about a young man`s unpredictable and fortifying journey which is set against the backdrop of the landlocked and mountainous Republic of Tajikistan in Central Asia, is impelled and reinforced by it`s cogent narrative structure, substantial character development, esoteric characters, quick-witted dialog and the efficiently understated acting performances by actor Khurshed Golibekov in his debut feature film role, Russian actress Dinara Drukarova and actor Maruf Pulodzoda. An atypical and highly recommended dark comedy.

I had never watched films with sub titles before, but really enjoy the ones I have bought. story lines are very real, and acting enjoyable to watch