Tilt (Viktor Chouchkov, 2010): Bulgaria/Germany

Reviewed by Alex Descano. Viewed at the Santa Barbara Film Festival 2011.

The Bulgarian drama Tilt, directed by Viktor Chouchkov, was the first foreign film I saw at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Prior to seeing the movie, I was nervous I might not be able to grasp its meaning or perhaps there would be a cultural barrier when watching it. Much to my surprise, this was not the case.

Tilt encompasses some very common storytelling techniques and relays a classic theme of romance. Chouchkov made good use of the three act structure and starts the movie off by introducing the film’s protagonist Stash. Stash is a troubled teen looking to strike it rich with his friends by selling skateboards and pornography. It is soon revealed that this is not accepted in Bulgarian culture as the police raid the seedy basement in which the boys are selling their goods.

After being released from the police station, the boys discuss the future of their business in a downtown plaza. It is at this time that we meet Stash’s love interest Becky. As with most romance stories, Stash spots Becky from across the plaza and is immediately drawn to her. Just like the classic sought after girl, she initially appears uninterested in Stash but soon gives into his charm. It is then that we begin to see the romance develop.

During Becky’s first visit to the basement shop it is raided again by policemen. After everyone present is taken into custody at the police station beside Becky we discover her father is an important government official. This proves to be the classic conflict in the romance story. Just like in Romeo and Juliet, Becky’s father forbids her from ever seeing Stash again, causing her desire for him to grow ever so strong.

Becky and Stash continue to see each other against her father’s wishes and fall madly in love. Soon enough, Becky’s father discovers their secret love affair and threatens Stash’s life if he ever sees his daughter again. As did Romeo and Juliet, Stash and Becky run away together in protest of the fight against their love. It isn’t long before her father catches them and they are separated for what they thought would be forever.

The film’s writer, Borislav Chouchkov does an excellent job of creating characters the audience can really empathize with. Although Stash may be a morally corrupt person, I often found myself sympathizing for him when things did not go in his favor, as one does with most protagonists. Chouchkov also wrote a classic version of an antagonist in the film, B-Gum. B-Gum appeared to be Stash’s friend in the beginning of the film but turned on him as soon as he saw the opportunity to steal Becky. Becky’s father encourages B-Gum to pursue her and she obviously rejects him.

As I mentioned, Chouchkov implemented the 3 act structure superbly since a great conflict in the film is evident. This conflict comes to a nice resolution when Stash is finally able to fight his way back into Becky’s heart at the end of the film.

Although Tilt portrays a classic story of romance, there is nothing truly unique about it. This storyline is almost too classic that it is nearly predictable. I wouldn’t say it is a bad film  but it is definitely nothing worth raving over. If one had the option of seeing this film in theaters or waiting until it came out on DVD, I think it would behoove them to wait.