Female Film Critics 24/375
A stoic Macedonian farmer finds himself face to face with a changing world in Tamara Kotevska’s sobering but also hopeful documentary The Tale of Silyan. As the story of Nikola and his unexpected bond with an injured stork unfolds, Kotevska draws parallels to a traditional Macedonian myth in which a young man is cursed by his father to become a stork after refusing to help on the family farm.
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The Tale of Silyan is an exquisitely crafted documentary that introduces us to an aging Macedonian potato farmer and the injured stork that he takes under wing. In following their unusual relationsip, filmmaker Tamara Kotevska delves into the economic hardships that plague farmers who want to work their and and maintain their traditional way of life in Northern Macednia, the very region where the filmmaker grew up.
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Director Tamara Kotevska brings a Macedonian folktale to life in The Tale of Silyan, a beautiful film that weaves themes of migration, conservation, and humanity into one memorable documentary that transcends the genre. The Tale of Silyan will reward those who seek it out. With sublime images and multi-layered themes, Kotevska has delivered a worthy successor to her Honeyland and further cemented herself as a filmmaker with empathy and a unique vision.
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Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov’s documentary “Honeyland” tells the compelling story of Hatidze Muratova, a Macedonian beekeeper whose quiet rural life with her ailing mother is upended upended by the arrival of an itinerant family, complete with seven children and a herd of cattle. Intimate and immersive, the film captures a place so removed from Western hustle and bustle that it almost feels like another century.
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The best saints are those who would strenuously deny that they are one. That is because their basic humanity is so hard-wired inside their being, they don’t have to think about how to treat others or how to not abuse what Mother Nature has provided us. Kindness, consideration and decency are just how they roll, no matter the hardships and negativity that might arise in their lives. Meet Honeyland‘s central character, Hatidze Muratowa, a traditional beekeeper in rural Macedonia.
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Honeyland is a riveting, deeply human story about a vanishing way of life. Kotevska and Stefanov enjoy a comfortable rapport with their subjects who appear natural and at ease revealing themselves in front of the camera. It makes for a breathtaking cinematic journey that’s not to be missed.
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