Tobacco

Tobacco 1962

4.57

Boris Morev dreams of money and power, he’ll do everything to reach the top, including leaving his beloved Irina, to marry the daughter of the local tobacco factory owner. With the death of his father-in-law and the illness of his wife, Morev becomes the new owner of "Nicotiana" and rules with an iron fist, resulting in massive labour strikes and murder. He ropes Irina back into his life, first as a mistress and later as his second wife, but his ambitions still come first as he plans on emerging as the biggest tobacco seller once the war is over. Irina’s love for Boris is fading and she finds a lover in one of the Germans Boris is trying to strike a deal with. Set against the backdrop of World War II and communist partisans fighting against the Nazi-allied Bulgarian monarchy, the film is a screen adaptation of the Bulgarian classic novel "Tobacco" released in 1954.

1962

The Profession of Arms

The Profession of Arms 2001

6.61

In autumn of 1526, the Emperor, Charles V, sends his German landsknechts led by Georg von Frundsberg to march towards Rome. The inferior papal armies, commanded by Giovanni de'Medici, try to chase them in the midst of a harsh winter. Nevertheless, the Imperial armies manage to cross the rivers along their march and get cannons thanks to the maneuvers of its Lords. In a skirmish, Giovanni de'Medici is wounded in the leg by a falconet shot. The attempts to cure him fail and he dies. The Imperial armies assault Rome. The film is beautifully but unassumingly set, and shows the hard conditions in which war is waged and its lack of glory. It ends straightforwardly with the declaration made after the death of Giovanni de'Medici by the commanders of the armies in Europe of not using again fire weapons because of their cruelty.

2001

Torrid Noon

Torrid Noon 1965

5.50

A young boy (I. Spassov) gets his hand caught in a bridge beam on a hot summer day in this straightforward drama. As the water level rises in the river, people band together to try and save the boy before he drowns. He is comforted by his mother (G. Vachtov) and an army general (P. Slobokov), and the latter calls out the troops to save the lad from liquidation. This feature was the official Bulgarian entry at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival and is devoid of the usual 1960s propaganda associated with countries from the Eastern block of Europe.

1965

Eolomea

Eolomea 1972

5.40

Eight space cargo-ships disappear without a trace within three days. And the orbit station "Margot" has suddenly fallen silent. The space council is faced with a mystery and the scientist in charge, Maria Scholl, sees no other solution than ordering a total flight stop to this mysterious sector of space. Her colleague, Prof. Tal seems to be suspicious since he knows things before they are even released. A forbidden look into his personal file brings to light that Tal was part of the Eolomea project that never found approval of the commission in charge.

1972

Stars

Stars 1959

7.40

Stationed in a secluded Bulgarian village in 1943, Walter – a German Wehrmacht sergeant and artist – lives in almost idyllic distance from the war. Then a transit camp is set up for Jews arriving from Greece. When Ruth, one of the internees, asks Walter to help a pregnant woman, the two form an unlikely bond.

1959

The Peach Thief

The Peach Thief 1964

6.80

The wife of a Bulgarian POW camp's warden falls in love with a Serbian prisoner at the end of World War I.

1964

Plyontek

Plyontek 1991

5.00

Plyontek, a boy with a weak constitution and traumatized psyche. Sent to a sanatorium where established rules among graduates, black pirate threats and combat establishes its rules. Plyontek gradually becomes ruler of a small kingdom of bitter and abused subjects. The circle is close to the emergence of the next willing to participant to fight evil.

1991

Favourite 13

Favourite 13 1958

8.00

The main heroes are twin brothers. The first is responsible young fellow and excellent footballer. The second one is an undependable gambler. The police are after him. A pretty girl stands in between them. She has profoundly fallen for the footballer. By coincidence, the twins change places, which result in a formidable mess and funny situations. Ultimately, all the misunderstandings are settled and the couple re-joins.

1958

Exams at Any Odd Time

Exams at Any Odd Time 1974

8.10

Two novels united by common characters and a never-settled problem: the clash between sincerity of children and the heartless pragmatism and ambitions of grown-ups.

1974

A Nameless Band

A Nameless Band 1982

7.60

Velko, Filip, Pavel and Gosho have different professions but are connected by the love they have for music. They rehearse all year to make it big on the sea resorts in the summer. The head of the cultural center where they play is willing to give them the musical equipment if they replace their singer Maria (Filip's girlfriend) with the attractive but untalented Reni. This is the first, but not the last compromise they have to make on the way to the dream.

1982

Dangerous Charm

Dangerous Charm 1984

8.86

He is well educated, charming, and gallant - a dream for each lonely lady. In reality he is a skillful swindler, who robs naive women. Cheating merchants with guilty consciences are his targets as well. This is the elusive protagonist of the movie. He constantly changes his name, stages his own death, and travels from town to town. His exploits are myriad and his life is an endless adventure. Yet, he remains an amiable swindler, an unrealized actor, whose only goal is make his life more interesting.

1984

The Goat Horn

The Goat Horn 1972

6.40

XVII century, Bulgaria is under Ottoman rule. Four men break into the house of the shepherd Karaivan, raping and killing his wife in full view of their child, Maria. To protect his daughter and to enact revenge, he raises Maria as a son, teaching her to fight and kill. But as Maria grows up, she longs for a different life.

1972

The Eighth

The Eighth 1969

6.00

During World War II, a plane transfers Bulgarian antifascists from the USSR to Bulgaria. They jump with parachutes. The eighth paratrooper heads a guerilla group. In the group, there are doubts about the existence of a traitor. Initially, an innocent person is accused, but later the real traitor is caught and killed. Still, the most dangerous enemies of the guerillas are the colonel and the troops stationed in the nearby village. The battle between them and the guerillas is won by the latter who continue to fight for their cause.

1969

Earth

Earth 1957

1

A Bulgarian village before the First World War. The young and ambitious farmer Enyo loves the beautiful but poor Tsveta. His brother and his wife arrange their engagement. The hunchback girl Stanka, daughter of the richest man in the village, is in love with Enyo. Because of her father's lands Enyo decides to end his engagement with Tsveta and starts building up his farm.

1957

Homecoming

Homecoming 1967

1

Five Bulgarian émigrés return to their country by submarine from the Soviet Union. They have to organize the antifascist resistance.

1967

Misty Shores

Misty Shores 1986

1

Fall, 1921. Wrangel's army, defeated in Crimea after a short stay in Turkey, found refuge in Bulgaria. White Guard Colonel lives here with his son and daughter, while his wife and youngest daughter were sheltered by the family of the Bolshevik, who've been sent to Bulgaria for propaganda work among Russian soldiers.

1986

Die Mahnung

Die Mahnung 1982

5.00

The action takes place in Moscow, Berlin and Vienna in years 1932 and 1933, a time when the great Bulgarian revolutionary and internationalist Georgi Dimitrov was actively involved in establishing a broad alliance of democratic forces against the emerging threat of war and fascism.

1982

Heroes of Shipka

Heroes of Shipka 1954

5.20

Heroes of Shipka was the first solo effort for Soviet director Sergei Vasilyev, who had previously collaborated with his late brother Georgi. As head of the Leningrad Film Studios, Vasilyev was obliged to traffic in propaganda, but he never forgot how to make his material entertaining. The film is set in 1887 during the pivotal battle between the Russians and the Turks at the Shipka Pass. Stressing the solidarity of the Soviet states, tribute is paid to the courageous Bulgarian volunteers who helped the Russians fend off their mutual enemy. American critics were impressed by Heroes of Shipka, but felt that the film would have been twice as effective had it been lensed in Cinemascope rather than "standard aspect."

1954

Rain over Santiago

Rain over Santiago 1975

6.40

A semi-fictional account on the fatidic September 11, 1973, when the military commanded by General Pinochet took over the power from socialist president Salvador Allende, initiating a dictatorship that lasted until 1988 causing the deaths and disappearances of many people.

1975