Review of Bourek (2016) by Paolanuri — 02 Jun 2016

Bourek is a delightful film, intelligently written and visually stunning. It manages to be both a modern-day fairy-tale and a timeless glimpse at mythological figures washed up on the island of Time itself.

It's also a commentary on how best to cultivate our gardens far from the crosswinds of globalization where man is a wolf to man. The cinematography is extraordinary (cerulean blues, glistening light, every color shot with visible wonder) and the acting of the lead Katerina Misichroni, aerial and soulful, as well as the marvelous Al Nazemian (who plays a hilarious risen-from-the-sea, Yeats-reciting Libyan refugee) are simply unforgettable.

Mr Nazemian's arrival on Khronos is the highlight of the film, and both its mythic and comedic apex. All in all this is a world one dreams to visit time and time again, both for the sheer pleasure of re-encountering Misichroni's and Nazemian's exquisite faces, and for the very lush sensual (and gastronomic) pleasure the movie conjures with such style and comic bravado.