26/09/2024 - Bulgarian duo Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov’s fourth feature is an absurdist, suspenseful comedy that maps out the vague prophetic ambitions of a puzzled country in transition

Margita Gosheva (top) and Maria Bakalova in Triumph

Imagine a child, old enough to survive on its own but still emotionally dependent on mentors and external guidance to make sense of its existence. This was Bulgaria in the turbulent year 1990, right after the fall of its communist regime; a country paralysed by its fear of the unknown future re-elected the communist party at its first democratic elections amidst the collapse of its once almighty, despotic, yet protective parent, the USSR. In the wake of these groundbreaking historical events, marked by horrific uncertainty, a secret state-funded military operation took place just 30 km outside Sofia, with the obscure goal of unearthing a capsule supposedly placed there by an alien civilisation. These equally mystic, comic, and shamefully true events form the basis for the third chapter in Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov’s trilogy (preceded by The Lesson [+see also:
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Grasping the plot of Triumph would be difficult without reading the synopsis first. A curly-haired woman wanders through a field, casting weird incantations, while a group of uniformed men listen, obey, and perform the odd rituals she dictates with the help of a cryptic vocabulary, peppered with peculiar terms like "deactiminate" and "energetic reflectorine." Gradually, the monochrome-clad participants begin to reveal their faces and characters within this unusual dramaturgic setup: the spell caster is Nyagolova (Margita Gosheva), the court psychic of the operation's leader, General Zlatev (Ivan Savov) who falls into a trance at key moments, claiming to be a conduit for the Galactic Assembly. The message she transmits? That Bulgaria is destined to play a crucial role in changing the world order and will lead mankind to triumph - a prophecy that will come true if they find the capsule. This grand proclamation throws even the skeptical Colonel Platnikov (Julian Vergov) into a euphoric state. Moreover, Nyagolova identifies his emotionally unstable daughter, Slava (Maria Bakalova), as a girl with supernatural abilities, leading him to surrender to her influence, both spiritual and erotic. Beyond the paranormal narrative, which increasingly proves to be mere quackery, life in the military camp is rather mundane, with a few intrigues to liven things up, which will challenge Nyagolova's authority and affirm the strength of Slava's feminine energy.

The domestic context behind the plot is large and complex, but what is certainly worth mentioning is its reflection of the real, unofficial practice that saw the former Bulgarian communist political elite consult fortune tellers. Grozeva and Valchanov have already explored the local fascination with dubious esotericism in their Crystal Globe-winning The Father [+see also:
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film profile], albeit in a more familiar setting. The unfailingly convincing Ivan Savov serves as a hot connection between the two works: in The Father, he plays a grieving man discussing astral bodies ascending to the beyond while believing that his recently deceased wife is calling him from eternity, while in Triumph, his character is captivated by an extraterrestrial promise of a monumental discovery. Both films reveal a subtle folk psychology, but in Triumph, local eccentricity is explored on a macro level, provoking broader generalisations. With its often difficult-to-decipher storytelling, the directors’ most monochrome film, and their most tightly grounded in the principle of time and place unity, risks misinterpretation. However, the dramaturgical approach of gradually unfolding the plot while leaving gaps in the overall puzzle sparks a curiosity that invites viewers to complete the finale themselves, like an interactive game.

Triumph was produced by Bulgaria's Abraxas Film and co-produced by Greece’s Graal Film.