The Colour of the Chameleon
I have a very limited knowledge of Bulgarian cinema. Limited being that I haven’t seen any so given the opportunity to see Emile Christov’s Bulgarian debut, The Colour of the Chameleon, I jumped at the chance to see the Eastern European movie. Especially because this espionage black comedy that is thick on complex satire sounded just my cup of tea. Think of a humorous, complicated Bulgarian take on Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy set in the Cold War 80’s just years before the collapse of the Berlin Wall and you’ll be on the kind of wobbly track that this movie is all about.
The Colour of the Chameleon centres around Batko, a college student, whose complex and slightly tragic back story has turned him into an intriguing pathological liar. Set in an over the top version of communist Bulgaria, Batko is hired by President Mlandanov’s secret police to spy on a group of college students who are seemingly conspiring against the Government. However, an unfortunate event means Batko is forced out of his position. Angry, Batko creates a false spy ring in an attempt to thwart the Government in an information war that could threaten to crumble all those at the top.
One of the biggest pulls of Christov’s debut is the gleeful amounts of satire. While it is not laugh out loud funny, the subtle attempts to undermine espionage and the espionage thriller movies, is still comedic. Little things such as Easter Eggs to contain messages or the sexual exploits of the college group keep the humour a surprisingly fun level. The movie pokes fun at corruption and conspiracy as it wraps titillating dialogue and actions underneath a heavy plot. Batko’s charm and ploys, played exceedingly well, by Ruscen Vidinliev, poke a complex satirical stick at regime as well as rebellions and uprisings.
But Christov and the production team get ahead of themselves and the story relies too heavy on this self awareness. It very quickly drowns on the caricatures and complexities that it has thrown in. Confusion sets in thick and fast and you struggle to keep up with exactly what is going on. The minute you figure that out is the minute it takes a minute turn. That minute turn is all you need to feel lost again. Rather than feeling that you are going along for the ride, you feel as though you a viewing an in joke between the filmmakers that developed over copious amounts of alcohol. It is a very hard movie to churn through and this causes it to drag on far too long than it should. Especially as a completely unnecessary romantic plot, that really is only good for poetic dialogue, could be written away and make the film much better.
If you stick with Christov’s movie than the ending, where all elements come to a grand and final conclusion, than you will be satisfied. It helps that Vidinliev is a brilliant and charismatic lead actor who steals every scene, as well as come incredible cinematography. The Colour of the Chameleon is a black comedy that is still highly enjoyable even if it is hard work.
3/5
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