Razzhimaya kulaki

With the snow-covered Caucasus Mountains looming above a cold city of concrete and dust, Ada is running out of time. She is as nervous and desperate to leave home as her single father is to keep her locked away with him. There is reason to his madness since he, Ada, and her two brothers recently fled from violence in Chechnya, but he holds on to her way too tight. Local boys revel in loud machines that swirl in the dirt, and there is one among them who pesters her relentlessly to score, but Ada tries to keep her distance from them. Doors tend to open for those whose hearts are in the right place.

Locals are not good actors, but better than professionals. I prefer them to professionals. Local actors have their faults, but their authenticity is unmatched, and they can really make a place come alive more than a thousand A-list actors put together. This goes for directors too. Fortunately for Unclenching the Fists, director Kira Kovalenko is from nearby Ossetia-Alania. Her story is enthralling, cathartic, and insightful even with its depressing nature. I reveled in the local disco with the characters as they danced to the song of their release. You will too.

Winner of the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes. Seen at the Toronto international film festival.