Macondo
Austria 2014
Written by Sudabeh Mortezai
Directed by Sudabeh Mortezai

My first thought after watching this movie was that something can be said about the traditional “hero journey” movie structure, where the main protagonist has to overcome some outer or inner obstacle, and during the course of this struggle, grows or at least changes as a person. Which is exactly what “Macondo” is missing in my opinion. At the end, everyone’s pretty much the same, and nothing has really changed. Which made the movie seem regrettably meaningless to me.

I also had my problems with Ramasan, our main protagonist. See, here’s the thing: I’ve never been a brat. One could say that I ended up too far on the other side of the spectrum, being too nice, good and reasonable even as a kid, but the simple fact of the matter is: I just don’t get that kind of behavior and/or mindset, where you think it’s cool to, for example, key the car of a complete stranger that didn’t do anything to you. Just for “fun”. I also didn’t appreciate the way he treated his mum and glorified his dad; however, that I could at least understand to a certain degree. But because of his behavior, I had a hard time to relate and thus sympathize with him. I don’t need my protagonists to be good as gold, but “Macondo” didn’t really manage to make me understand him, and for me, that was a major problem.

What I liked about this movie is that – as so many others at this years Viennale (and as mentioned before a couple of times) – it offered a window into a different world for me. The fact that this “foreign” world is just a couple of kilometers from where I live – and that before the movie I never even knew that we had this refugee camp so close to us; it really seems like a totally different country – just made it all the more fascinating and enlightening for me. Also, the lead child actor, Ramasan Minkailov, gives an incredible, raw and natural performance, and is a joy to watch. I hope we’ll see more of him in the future. “Macondo” is far from being a bad movie; it definitely has its moments, and offers a fascinating glimpse into a totally different world that pretty much lurks right around the corner from where I live. I just wish it would have had more of a story to tell.
5/10

PS: I’m I the only one who had to think of “Pulp Fiction” during a certain scene?

IMDB