“Promise Me I’ll Be OK” Film Review: Slovak Coming of Age Drama

A boy will be a boy after all. This is the eternal takeaway Promise me I’ll be fine (Heaven is above, I am in the valley), had its world premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival. This heartwarming coming-of-age story follows Ino (Michael Zaczynski), a 15-year-old boy in rural Slovakia who learns the brutal truth about his often-absent mother. Filmmaker Katarina Gramatova’s first auspicious feature film.

The show’s opening credits, which tell us it was “inspired by life in Slovakia’s ‘Hungry Valley’,” don’t present a particularly idyllic portrait of its naturally beautiful but impoverished surroundings. There, Ino and his three male friends engage in the kind of mindless time-killing adventures familiar to teenagers.

They sit around eating pizza while sarcastic about the village’s residents, including the local drunk. They viewed 3D photos of naked women on an old View-Master type device. They ride around endlessly on mopeds and occasionally go on road trips that take them to exciting destinations like the Speedway McDonald’s. The upcoming bike race, along with cash prizes, will hopefully inject at least some excitement into their daily lives.

Ino lives with his grandmother (Jana Olkhova), who rarely tolerates dissent and wastes no time in reminding him of the sacrifices she has made. His mother (Eva Morse) has been absent for long periods of time, working at some unknown job in a more prosperous area. Even though Ino desperately longed for a romantic relationship with her, she always made excuses for why she couldn’t see him often, assuring him, “I promise you, I’ll be back before the holidays are over.”

Ino’s fragile illusions are shattered when his friends laugh at him, as teenagers often do, by telling him that his mother is not the kind woman he thinks she is and that she is actually engaged in nefarious activities that exploit the elderly. When he crashes his moped and destroys its engine, he is forced to seek help from her, and when she finally comes to visit, he questions her about the true nature of her activities. The resulting encounter, in which his vulnerability and her deception are laid bare, provides a quietly shattering climax.

Director and screenwriter Gramatova based her experience making short films on an original story co-written by producer Igor Engler Good intentions grow among thorns In the mountain village of Utechka. Several of the film’s young protagonists make their debuts here, and their naturalistic performances are truly impressive – especially that of Zaczynski, whose brooding persona and James Dean-esque good looks make him a Natural lens objects. Professional actress Morse delivers an unforgettable turn as Ino’s mother, displaying a range of complex emotions in relatively brief screen time and displaying an intense charisma that drives her son’s obsession with her And her deceptive skills are completely understandable.

Possessing a lived-in authenticity that gives its familiar stories an undeniable sense of urgency, Promise me I’ll be fine should achieve considerable success on the festival circuit and with international arts institutions.