In Bulgarian, the term 'Zift' can refer to any one of several things; it's a tough, chewy, gum like substance; an asphalt; or a blanket piece of slang simply meaning 'shit.' Sandwiched in between Romania, Greece, and Turkey at the ass end of Europe, Bulgaria is one of the forgotten, less fashionable Eastern Bloc nations that suffered under Communist rule for the better part of a half century. Eager to impart the odd sensation of numbing that set in as his country and it's culture slowly suffocated, veteran theater helmer Javor Gardev's hyper-stylized noir opens with a monologue from our hero, Moth (Baharov), recounting one unfortunate fellow's run-in with the vengeful husband of his mistress emptying the contents of an entire sewage truck into his apartment. Ironically, the sight of four tons of feces sloshing around in his pad didn't even make the man queasy. "When there is that much shit," we're told, "you barely notice."
Like all great noirs, Zift is the story of one naive, smitten schmo, and the calculating, manipulative dame who ultimately dooms him. Imprisoned on a twenty-year stretch right after the Communist coup in `46 for a murder he didn't commit, plucky boxer and petty crook Moth is eager to track down his beloved, Mantis (model Tanya Ilieva) - see where this is going? - and get back to his life. No sooner has he hit the street though than he finds himself whisked off to a dungeon by his former partner, Slug (Penev), now an influential member of the dastardly Nomenklatura, to have his genitals electrocuted and a quiet word as to the whereabouts of a missing diamond. It's in scenes like this that Gardev has fun with the fundamental contradictions that eventually undermined the Communist ideal. Yes, you may have ripped off your former partner, and yes, he might be torturing you for information, but at the end of the day we're all 'comrades,' right?
Having hardboiled his grit, Gardev then frosts it with moments of jet black comedy, and a sly smattering of smut that is at times more Benny Hill than Billy Wilder. Shot in stark black and white, Gardev's Sofia has an eerie air about it, with the director accentuating it's many high-rises and alleyways that seemingly drift off into nowhere; the gray concrete reaching up into the blackness of the night, the very buildings themselves seeking some sense of escape. Populating this dead cityscape are harsh faces, clustered in dreary bars and dank cafes where the long and empty silences are punctuated by an endless series of deadpan tall-tales - typically about something violent and/or disgusting - designed purely to alleviate the tedium.
In America, of course, the noir was, and still is, seen as somewhat glamorous, and Gardev plays to this, making his femme fatale a lounge singer and naming her Gilda in reference to Rita Heyworth's signature role. Yet still he turns this on it's head, imbuing it with his, frankly, dirty sense of humor. Characters spend more time naked than they do clothed, and you will come to know Zahari Baharov's pale rear end intimately. What no one ever saw fit to tell America, and what Gardev understands all too well, is that the noir, while often presented as glitzy and alluring, was fundamentally built on the idea that men all too often think with their dick.
DVD Bonus Features
Nothing beyond the theatrical trailer.
"Zift" is on sale July 13, 2010 and is not rated. Crime-Thriller. Directed by Javor Gardev. Written by Vladislav Todorov. Starring Zahari Baharov, Tanya Ilieva, Vladimir Penev, Mihail Mutafov, Doko Rosic.
