Released by: Artsploitation Films
Released on: February 19, 2013.
Director: Aleksandr Vartanov
Cast: Ruslan Nazarenko
Year: 2011
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The Movie:
Directed by Aleksandr Vartanov, Bullet Collector follows the exploits of a fourteen year old boy (Ruslan Nazarenko) who is constantly picked on and beaten up by bullies at school. His home life isn't a whole lot better, his parents don't seem to care what happens to him and although he lives in a very real urban environment, he spends increasingly more time in what seems to be a fantasy world of his own creation. He talks to his girlfriend about his life, feeding her a series of lies, each one more elaborate than the last. He also has a tendency to give what he gets, that is he takes out some of the frustration he feels on some of the younger, weaker kids at school.
When he gets into a nasty fight in the middle of the street, he's sent off to a prison camp for troubled juvenile offender types where he actually manages to befriend a few of his fellow inmates. As they start to bond, he starts to plan his escape from the facility but things are about to get a whole lot worse before they get any better.
Grim and bleak and shot entirely in stark, high contract black and white, Bullet Collector is exactly the feel good hit of the year but it is very much a movie worth seeing. Though there are some pacing issues here and there (the movie is just over two hours long) and a few spots where the narrative gets disjointed and weird simply because it can and not in the least because it needs to, the good does outweigh the bad by a considerable amount.
First off, it's hard not to appreciate some of the technique on display here. A few of the transitions and cuts are very clever, helping to put us into the lead characters mind and letting us get a cold hard glimpse of his reality as it contrasts with the far more exciting fantasy world he's created for himself. This allows us to have enough sympathy for the character that we stay interested in his plight, even as we witness him committing some pretty horrible acts himself. We understand his situation well enough that even if we can't always sympathize with him, we can at least understand how and why he'd get to the dark places he goes to and as such, he feels real enough to matter. The movie also makes some interesting juxtapositions in terms of how it displays his need to stand up for himself versus his need to become the aggressor in certain situations. Ruslan Nazarenko is good enough in the part that he makes it all work, never breaking character or failing to convince us of his commitment to the role.
There are no easy answers here, the movie lays it all out on the table and lets us make up our own minds as to the morality of it all. It's a movie that demands we pay attention and those looking for a quick and easy fix of light entertainment would be better served elsewhere but fans of challenging cinema take note, Bullet Collector is an impressive debut feature from a director well worth keeping an eye on.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer on the DVD release from Artsploitaiton Films is a nice one considering that this was made with a pretty modest budget. The picture shows strong black levels and nice, vivid, lifelike color. Skin tones appear accurate and natural while detail is about as good as standard definition is going to allow for. There are no problems with compression artifacts or edge enhancement and whatever minor shimmer works its way into the image is forgivable and not particularly noticeable in the first place.
The Russian language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo mix has enough power behind it to work well. Channel separation isn't a constant but it's definitely there and quite effective at that, you'll notice it in the score and with some of the effects. The levels are well balanced and bass response is strong without overpowering the dialogue. The optional English subtitles are clean, clear and easy to read and free of any obvious typographic errors.
The main extra on the disc is an interesting twenty-five minute featurette entitled The Making Of The Bullet Collector which is essentially a fly on the wall look at various scenes from the movie being put together. There isn't a whole lot of context here but we get to see how some of the makeup effects were done and how and why certain segments of the movie were shot they way they were.
Aside from that, rounding out the disc is a single two minute deleted scene, six minutes of audition footage featuring Ruslan Nazarenko, Piotr Ivanov Audition and Evgeny Olshansky and trailers for “the feature, and a few other Artsploitation releases - Clip, Combat Girls, Gandu and Hard Romanticker. Menus and chapter stops are also included and inside the keepcase is a full color booklet featuring some thoughts on the movie and an interview with Aleksandr Vartanov about his intentions with this film and about his thoughts on moviemaking in general.
The Final Word:
Dark and depressing but more importantly intelligent and quite though provoking, this isn't a film for those with delicate sensibilities or an aversion to the harsher side of cinema. It is, however, a very well made picture completely deserving of the special edition treatment that domestic distributors Artsploitation Films have lauded upon it.