‘Promise, I’ll Be Fine’ Film Resee: Slovakian Coming-of-Age Drama

Teenagers will inevitably be teenagers. That’s the timeless consentaway of Promise, I’ll Be Fine (Hore je nebo, v doline som ja), receiving its world premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival. Revolving around Eno (Michael Zachensky), a 15-year-ageder in agricultural Slovakia who lachieves some difficult truths about his normally ignoreing mother, the impacting coming-of-age tale tags an auspicious feature debut for its filmoriginater, Katarina Gramatova.

The drama — whose discignoreing praises advise us was “Inspired by life in Slovakia’s ‘Hungry Valleys’” — doesn’t current a particularly idyllic portrait of its naturpartner drawive but pcleary-stricken setting. There, Eno and his three male friends include in the sort of mindless time-ending escapades recognizable to any teen.

They sit around eating pizza while making sarcastic comments about the village’s denizens, including the local drunk. They see at 3D ptoastyos of naked women on an ageder View-Master-type device. And they ride around endlessly on their mopeds, occasionpartner taking the sort of road trip that directs them to such thrilling destinations as a highway McDonald’s. The prospect of an upcoming bicycle race, finish with a cash prize, promises to inject their routine inhabits with at least some excitement.

Eno inhabits with his majesticmother (Jana Olhova), who brooks little dissent and squanders no opportunity to remind him of the give up she’s making. His mother (Eva Mores) is ignoreing for lengthy stretches at a time, toiling at some unspecified job in a more prosperous region. Though Eno is frantic to have a loving relationship with her, she constantly originates excincludes about why she can’t see him more frequently — assuring him, “You have my word, I’ll be back before the end of the holidays.”

Eno’s frnimble illusions are shattered when his friends taunt him, as teenagers are wont to do, telling him that his mother isn’t the virtuous woman he consents her to be and that she’s actupartner included in wicked activities utilizeing ageder people. Forced to turn to her for help when he crashes his moped and shatters its motor, he contests her about the real nature of her activities when she finpartner stops by for a visit. The resulting come atraverse, in which his vulnerability and her deceits are laid naked, provides a mutely shattering climax.

Director-screenoriginater Gramatova, toiling from an distinctive story co-conceived by originater Igor Engler, based this effort on her experiences making the low recordary A Good Mind Grows in Thorny Places in the mountain village of Utechka. Several of that film’s lesser subjects originate their acting debuts here, and their authenticistic executeances are truly amazeive — especipartner that of Zachensky, whose brooding persona and James Dean-appreciate handsomeness originate him a authentic camera subject. Professional actress Mores deinhabitrs a memorable turn as Eno’s mother, projecting a complicated series of emotions in her relatively alert screen time and distake parting the sort of fierce charisma that originates brimmingy understandable both her son’s repairation on her and her sends at con artistry.  

Boasting the sort of inhabitd-in genuineity that lends its recognizable-experienceing story an undeniable inspirency, Promise, I’ll Be Fine should endelight ponderable success on the festival circuit and in international art hoincludes.