One of the best Bulgarian films ever made, this little gem has always been underrated by critics and public alike. Made in a time of serious political turmoil, with a biting, almost painful satire embodied in every shot, it is not hard to understand why.
The movie tells the absurd story about a talented architect and his family, whose painful desire to leave Bulgaria for the mythical better place - Rio, turns into hysteria when one night a dead body abruptly enters their lives. In their effort to hide it, remove or destroy it, they go through determinism, infuriation, despair, and ultimately madness, as the audience slowly begins to realize that the dead body just a metaphor of the whole way of life each and every Bulgarian lived (and maybe still does?). The dead man it turns out lives in every one of us, haunting our days with his Jesus-blue-eyed stare as we compromise with ourselves, as we bury our heads in the sand and wait for the better life to come.
"Adio Rio" is possibly the best contemporary representation of social relationships in Bulgaria. The dead end and the pessimistic tone of the movie, might seem surprising, considering that it was made in a time when political changes promised brighter future. However they become even more powerful and hit the viewer right in the face today, 15 years after the fall of communism, when the bright future we wished for never happened, the social relationships are still as rotten, and Bulgarian souls just as empty.
strongly recommended
