Out of time, thus out of any trend, “Ghormua” reclaims the finest traditions of eastern classic filmmaking so we can rediscover, specific features aside, traces of Satyajit Ray in the heavenly shots of the female figures, and of Kenji Mizoguchi's hazy woods. Masterfully orchestrated (namely in terms of sound and music, which is fundamental to the narrative structure and to create a certain atmosphere), the film shows different characters in their daily repetitive life: a woman, a child, two siblings – one of which is a teacher. During a conversation between the two about their father's death, one of them asks: “If someone was to write a story about our village, what would the first line be?". It would be a sound. We hear a shot followed by still shots of bodies lying. A mass suicide haunts the population and contaminates their dreams. Death, imagination and reality cross paths in a journey that ultimately can only belong to the living. (AJM)