The opinion of the “World” – Not to be missed
That a fiction succeeds in revealing through the absurd a territory which is not recognized by the international community, it is the first exploit of If the wind drops, by Nora Martirosyan, shot in 2018 in the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. That the director and visual artist born in Armenia, in 1973, chose to draw the contours of this country like a topographer, scrutinizing the lines of movement of her characters, is the other good news of this ubiquitous film which takes place. plays in an airport (that of Stepanakert, capital of the country).
Produced by Julie Paratian (Sister Productions), If the wind drops received in spring 2020 the double label of the Cannes official selection and of the parallel section ACID (Association of independent cinema for its diffusion). A few months later, in the fall, Nagorno-Karabakh was overtaken by its tragic history. Attached to Azerbaijan in 1920, the Armenian province had claimed its independence at the time of the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, proclaiming itself an independent republic. At the end of a three-year war with Azerbaijan, a ceasefire was signed in 1994. But the territory remained the theater of a latent conflict, until a new war, started. in September 2020 by Azerbaijan (with the support of Turkey), does not bring the Armenian enclave to its knees.
Land of the absurd
Filmmakers sometimes seize on an insoluble geopolitical problem to invent radical and inventive forms. On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, let us quote the burlesque genius of Elia Suleiman (Divine intervention, in 2002, It Must Be Heaven, in 2019) and the performative power of Raed Andoni (Fix Me, in 2009, Ghost Hunting, in 2017). If the wind drops pulsates with a low continuous voltage. First sequence in the form of a dark ribbon: a scrolling of mountain ridges, at night, filmed from the Latchine corridor, that is to say the road which connects Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. The filmmaker does not yet unveil a landscape, but pure spaces of perceptions, stroboscopic images and signs of a human presence that still remains to be established.
The airport does not see any planes take off or land – Nagorno-Karabakh is not officially recognized. And yet, every day, everyone is at their post
The inhabitants of this arid microterritory live on the terrain of the absurd. Stepanakert Airport is reaching out to us, like its two concrete wings embedded in the facade. The small building looks great, but it doesn’t see any planes take off or land – as the country is not officially recognized, the airport does not have the necessary clearances. And yet, every day, everyone is at their post, the ramp officers, the control tower staff, the manager, etc. All are watching for the day when passengers could finally board. It would be, they think, the first step towards the recognition of the country.
You have 42.16% of this article to read. The rest is for subscribers only.