Ich-chi

Saw this at the Imagine filmfestival 2021, usually in Amsterdam but now 100% online. Main ingredients: Ancient issues carried over from the past "the land never forgets", tradition/landlife vs modern/western/city, blatant lies, superstition "crow in the house!", and differences between grown-apart brothers. It all comes together in this movie and worked out much better than I had assumed after reading the synopsis on the festival website.

Dreadful events in the past reach out to the present. We get several hints that things in the ground are relevant, for example the plough that got stuck and halted the tractor. This is later elaborated on when we are told that possessed people were beheaded to release their possessed souls, and their skulls were buried deep to lock the evil spirits in the ground.

A pity that it was difficult sometimes to follow what was going on, due to the inherent darkness of the images. In the last quarter there are some switches back&forth to a past where witchcraft was believed in, showing events wherein Aisen seems to actively participate, but details went over my head or drowned in the darkness on screen. The only thing clear to me is that a skull he undigged in an earlier scene, is particularly pertinent to everything happening. The final 5 minutes are lost on me, while we watch a police team investigating the house after (it seems) all their inhabitants were reported missing, and where Aisen wanders round yet unnoticed by the detectives. Then the credits start rolling, with a song in the background with ominous sentences like "Let no one know of our strength. Let our secrets be kept forever", and much more along that line. Finally, a horseman appears, no face visible, saying nothing, only fading away in the background. Then the remainder of the credits appear.

I'm not sure the last half hour delivered on the promises laid out by what happened before. What did I miss because of the dark images and/or lack of knowledge about local folklore?? Nevertheless, the mixture of past and present is presented very well, very appropriate in the rural environment of the story.

ICH-CHI is a spirit from Yakut mythology that protects the earth and its people. When city dwellers Lisa and Timur return to Timur's childhood house the family's past quarrels come to the surface. But when the night arrives something more menacing lurks in the dark and it is rooted in deep tragedies and great evils of the past.

ICH-CHI signifies the coming of Yakut film into Mainstream movie world. The movie begins as a serious drama about the reconciliation of the old and the new. The first half of the film is an engaging family drama which focuses of the conflict of two brothers - one came back from the city, the other lives in the wilderness with his parents. Both are dismissive of the other's lifestyle, and their inability to find common ground may demand a high price to pay.

The cast of characters supported by mysterious background of Yakutia's wild nature builds up to something incredible, but when the night falls and the horror part of the movie begins, it turns into a confusing mess. Remaining stylish and beautiful throughout, consistently well acted, the film would have done better to remain on the familiar family drama track. But the director Kostas Marsan is much more interested in the myths of the Yakut land and the terrifying nature of the past that haunts our characters.

The second part of the film is a dream-like labyrinthian sequence that makes little sense as it progresses and only by the end some questions will be answered. But will it be enough?