The film starts in the woods with main actor on the hunt. We simply think that he is just another hunter but after the first 7 minutes of film, we are not so sure about that... We don't exactly know if he really doesn't recognize human from bear because the woods messed his head (and his vision) or indeed he knows that it's human, but just wants it to be bear. However, we get that he has some serious problems...
This it's not just a movie about crazy hunter shooting everything he sees, but about confrontation with his own failure. Hunting is a job where you spent most of the time observing and it's Hunter's dream to find a bear or any other wild animal and shoot it. From reactions and dialogue we see that it kills him for not finding anything. So he creates a game in his head. He brings his (probably best) friend into the woods for the first time and he want to show him that hunting it's not an easy job. But even his friend doesn't take it seriously. Hunters obsession with hunting and killing probably comes from his uncle - as we later found out. He was kicked out hunting association, Hunter gives us a reason why, but we consume that there must be something wrong with him too...
In the end, after he kills young forester and then accidentally shoots his best friend, he finally realize that he lost everything, particularly his mind with his madness of chasing his (unreachable) dream. I like the metaphor of a chestnut at the end of the movie, where he passes by and doesn't care for it - for he is like a chestnut, he has prickles but after you open the shell, there is a nice core. We notice the colors of photography are getting warmer after he's leaving the forest. These are details that are barely visible to the ordinary viewer, but improve the picture.
Meaning of the film can be transferred into any other life situation and we see that it's not just another mindless action/comedy film without a message. You just have to read between the lines... Beside the story it's a well directed (btw: hunting topic also appears in director Mercun's earlier work), beautifully filmed and unforgettably performed by a leading role.
This it's not just a movie about crazy hunter shooting everything he sees, but about confrontation with his own failure. Hunting is a job where you spent most of the time observing and it's Hunter's dream to find a bear or any other wild animal and shoot it. From reactions and dialogue we see that it kills him for not finding anything. So he creates a game in his head. He brings his (probably best) friend into the woods for the first time and he want to show him that hunting it's not an easy job. But even his friend doesn't take it seriously. Hunters obsession with hunting and killing probably comes from his uncle - as we later found out. He was kicked out hunting association, Hunter gives us a reason why, but we consume that there must be something wrong with him too...
In the end, after he kills young forester and then accidentally shoots his best friend, he finally realize that he lost everything, particularly his mind with his madness of chasing his (unreachable) dream. I like the metaphor of a chestnut at the end of the movie, where he passes by and doesn't care for it - for he is like a chestnut, he has prickles but after you open the shell, there is a nice core. We notice the colors of photography are getting warmer after he's leaving the forest. These are details that are barely visible to the ordinary viewer, but improve the picture.
Meaning of the film can be transferred into any other life situation and we see that it's not just another mindless action/comedy film without a message. You just have to read between the lines... Beside the story it's a well directed (btw: hunting topic also appears in director Mercun's earlier work), beautifully filmed and unforgettably performed by a leading role.
