The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner (2008)
"Svetat e golyam i spasenie debne otvsyakade" (original title)

The story of Alex, who, with the help of his charismatic grandfather, Bai Dan, embarks on a journey in search of his real self.

Director:

Stephan Komandarev

Writers:

Yurii Dachev (screenplay), Stephan Komandarev (screenplay),

Stars:

Predrag Manojlovic, Carlo Ljubek, Hristo Mutafchiev

8 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Predrag Manojlovic	...	Bai Dan (as Miki Manojlovic)
Carlo Ljubek	...	Alexander 'Sashko' Georgiev
Hristo Mutafchiev	...	Vasil 'Vasko' Georgiev
Ana Papadopulu	...	Yana Georgieva
Lyudmila Cheshmedzhieva	...	Baba Sladka
Nikolai Urumov	...	State Security Agent
Vasil Vasilev-Zueka	...	Ivo Chikagoto
Dorka Gryllus	...	Maria
Heinz Josef Braun	...	Dr. Schreiber
Stefan Valdobrev	...	Stoyan
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rok Cvetkov	...	Chef 1
Dobrin Dosev	...	Smuggler
Alexander Doynov	...	Backgammon player
Branislav Fistric	...	Chef 2
Georgi Kadurin	...	Sforza

Storyline

What's in a game? For a young man, who has left his country behind, lost his memory and forgotten his love, the game might be the only way out. This is a story about a Bulgarian boy who grows up to be a German man. After a car accident Alex can't remember even what his name is. In an attempt to cure him from amnesia, his grandfather Bai Dan comes over to Germany and organizes a spiritual journey for his grandson back into his past, to the country where he came from. In changing places, time and transport, crossing half Europe, they play backgammon, the simplest, and yet the most complex of all games. That game leads Alex to the realizations of who he is, and that game is symbolic to the story. Destiny is the dice we hold in our own hands and life is a game on the edge between chance and skill.

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Plot Keywords:

backgammon | amnesia | dice | car accident | camp | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site (Bulgarian, Slovenian, English) Official site [fr]

Country:

Bulgaria Germany Slovenia Hungary

Language:

Bulgarian German Italian Slovenian English Hungarian

Release Date:

10 October 2008 (Bulgaria)

Also Known As:

The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner

Filming Locations:

Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

RFF International, Pallas Film, Vertigo/Emotionfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min 105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (Dolby 5.1)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stipe Erceg and Branko Tomovic were considered for the lead part of Alex.

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Connections

Referenced in Estrenos Críticos: Harry Potter y las Pelis que no conocía ni Dios (2011)

User Reviews

The truth about a nation has many faces, though the facts can show some of it's nature

As soon as the movie meets the audience (especially a particular group of generations) it feels like classics. Inspired by auto-biog novel of Ilija Trojanov published in 1996 and directed in 2008 by Stephan Komandarev (coevals born in the middle of Communist era in Sofia, Bulgaria) this move is devoted to the people that were rendered "enemies of the nation" in their own country. Bai Dan is a real Bulgarian (it is worth noting that the role is played by the Serbian, Miki Manojlovic - Underground (1995)) which everyone will agree had met at least once in his life. He is a dice master who knows how to deal with the chances in life, he is brave, he is wild and yet he is naturally wise and humble Christian. Now it is time to play he's most important game - he have to help his grandson to find his lost soul. The personage's character is really admirable and like everything else in the move is marked by the natural charisma of the intelligent masterpiece. There are a lot of background symbols throughout the script and as the movie answers a lot, it inevitably opens the Pandora's box defining the post-communist societies in Eastern Europe. Political issues are presented in a skillful adjunct with the personal drama and doesn't bother with details and references more than necessary while standing in the heat zone. Perfect camera, astonishing sight-seeings - this move is a real advertisement and an open invitation for the artists and the common EU travelers.