"Mera spored mera" is the greatest ever Bulgarian movie for a number of reasons, but one above else: it is a technical success such as the country's cinematography has never achieved: the sound, the image, and the sequence are impeccable.
As for the plot, the movie is an enviably trustworthy rendition of some of the most traumatic events in the 20th-century history of the Balkans: the formation of a Macedonian revolutionary movement for the establishment of an autonomous province within the Ottoman Empire, the failed uprising of 1903 which resulted in massacres and mass emigration, and the fraternal wars which exploded among the revolutionaries (the comitadzi) as a result of this failure. Except for the main character, Dilber Tanas, who is a personification of the "quintessential", but anonymous Macedonian company-leader (voevoda), all the characters are historical figures and all the events have really taken place.
The astounding dialogs in the local dialects, the hilarious humour surrounding some of the central, and actually tragic, events (Dilber Tanas is himself a genuinely funny guy), the superbly organized battle scenes, and the invigorating landscapes of Macedonia (all shootings took place at, or close to, the sites of the actual events) make the movie a pleasure to see.
The Macedonian revolution is considered by millions of Bulgarians as a period of pain and loss, yet of pride and heroism as well. Hundreds of thousands people in the country have their roots in Macedonia and regard the depicted events as personal tragedy. The doubtless success of the movie is that it presents the events in a truly epic dimension, bringing forth the beauty and glory of self-sacrifice: in short, what the Bulgarian audience wants to see. At the same time, the script is carefully measured so as to stay as far as possible from any chauvinistic digressions and to placate the possible negative outbursts among Bulgaria's neighbors.
As for the plot, the movie is an enviably trustworthy rendition of some of the most traumatic events in the 20th-century history of the Balkans: the formation of a Macedonian revolutionary movement for the establishment of an autonomous province within the Ottoman Empire, the failed uprising of 1903 which resulted in massacres and mass emigration, and the fraternal wars which exploded among the revolutionaries (the comitadzi) as a result of this failure. Except for the main character, Dilber Tanas, who is a personification of the "quintessential", but anonymous Macedonian company-leader (voevoda), all the characters are historical figures and all the events have really taken place.
The astounding dialogs in the local dialects, the hilarious humour surrounding some of the central, and actually tragic, events (Dilber Tanas is himself a genuinely funny guy), the superbly organized battle scenes, and the invigorating landscapes of Macedonia (all shootings took place at, or close to, the sites of the actual events) make the movie a pleasure to see.
The Macedonian revolution is considered by millions of Bulgarians as a period of pain and loss, yet of pride and heroism as well. Hundreds of thousands people in the country have their roots in Macedonia and regard the depicted events as personal tragedy. The doubtless success of the movie is that it presents the events in a truly epic dimension, bringing forth the beauty and glory of self-sacrifice: in short, what the Bulgarian audience wants to see. At the same time, the script is carefully measured so as to stay as far as possible from any chauvinistic digressions and to placate the possible negative outbursts among Bulgaria's neighbors.
