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VENICE 2022 Orizzonti

Review: Luxembourg, Luxembourg

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- VENICE 2022: The second film by Ukrainian director Antonio Lukich is about two brothers travelling to Luxembourg to say goodbye to their father

Review: Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Ramil and Amil Nasirov in Luxembourg, Luxembourg

The protagonists of Antonio Lukich’s Venice Orizzonti entry Luxembourg, Luxembourg [+see also:
trailer
interview: Antonio Lukich
film profile
]
, Kolya and Vasya, are twin brothers. In the 1990s, their mother went abroad to go shopping, and returned with a Serbian husband. “Like our Serbian father, everyone is usually called a Gypsy,” says Kolya’s voice-over. “They say that when a son looks like his mother, he is born happy. Even though we are twins, Vasya looks like our mother; I look like our dad.” This key phrase seems to encapsulate the entire meaning of the film. In the 1990s, Kolya and Vasya’s father was a big-time gangster and had dangerous connections; he could solve any issue he wanted. But the twins have not seen him since they were six years old.

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Now they are grown up and live in Lubny, in the Poltava region. Vasya works in the police force, while Kolya drives a bus and sells marijuana. Soon, he will get into trouble with the law, and he will also get a call from Luxembourg to tell him that their father is dying in hospital. Kolya wants to go and see their dad, while Vasya strongly opposes the idea. But the situation will develop in such a way that the brothers will embark upon a long trip abroad in their father’s old car.

Lukich's first film, My Thoughts Are Silent [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, was about the relationship between a very tall man and his young mother, who wanted to marry a foreigner. The second film by the director revolves around two short twins saying goodbye to their foreign father. Lukich does not hide the fact that both films are autobiographical to some extent. At the end of Luxembourg, Luxembourg, there is a dedication to his own Croatian father. It could be that Lukich has now exhausted all of the Freudian psychological trauma associated with his parents; however, his films are not only about such trauma. They are tender, loving messages to our parents, showing endless, sincere gratitude to the people who raised us.

The actors playing the main roles (Ramil and Amil Nasirov) are members of the Ukrainian group Kurgan and Agregat, and both in cinema and in real life, they communicate in the Slobozhan dialect of Surzhyk. Lukich says that, among other reasons, he chose these men for the main roles because of the language issue – their speech sounds funny but natural. However, this is not the first time that a modern Ukrainian film has used this dialect. Previously, The Strayed [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Arkadiy Nepytaliuk, about a village in Ukraine, was filmed in Surzhyk, although it did not have a major international impact, probably because of the darker subject matter.

That’s not to say that Lukich's characters are glamorous. They live an ordinary Ukrainian life, swearing and drinking beer in the evenings. Kolya drives his father's tuned car, trying to impress his girlfriend. One scene with the girl is resolved in the spirit of Woody Allen's Annie Hall, as Lukich uses the height difference between the couple to comedic effect. The helmer is definitely a cinephile and has also included motifs from one of his other favourite directors, Milos Forman, in his film.

Luxembourg, Luxembourg is full of local jokes that may not be understood by foreign viewers; in contrast, My Thoughts Are Silent was more of a sitcom-style movie. However, despite this, the film is a convincing dramedy, changing pace towards the end and bringing the other brother, Vasya, to the fore. Also, the invisible hero of the movie is the figure of the father, whom the children remember only from their childhood. This situation is typical for many Ukrainians, as fathers generally leave their families behind, with their wives being left alone to take care of the children. During the ongoing war with Russia, there will certainly be many more such families. Therefore, although this film is not about the war per se, it will definitely resonate with many Ukrainians.

Luxembourg, Luxembourg was produced by ForeFilms (Ukraine), while Celluloid Dreams handles its international sales.

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Photogallery 07/09/2022: Venice 2022 - Luxembourg, Luxembourg

16 pictures available. Swipe left or right to see them all.

Antonio Lukich
© 2022 Dario Caruso for Cineuropa - @studio.photo.dar, Dario Caruso

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