Director

Hilal Baydarov

Azerbaijan, Mexico, USA | 2020 | 88 min | Azerbaijani

• Producer Hilal Baydarov, Elshan Abbasov, Carlos Reygadas, Joslyn Barnes
• Production Company Splendor Omnia Studios, Louverture Films, Ucqar Film
• Screenplay Hilal Baydarov, Rashad Safar
• Cinematography Elshan Abbasov
• Editing Hilal Baydarov
• Sound Orkhan Hasanov
• Cast Orkhan Iskandarli, Rana Asgarova, Maryam Naghiyev
• Contacts

  Pluto Film
  

  info@plutofilm.de

About the Film

A poetical story about a restless young man searching for his ‘true’ family, Azerbaijani film In Between Dying—the second narrative feature, following 2018’s Hills Without Names and several documentaries, from Hilal Baydarov—offers a gently immersive story of self-discovery that is rich in cinematic symbolism as the lead character embarks on a journey against the backdrop of a striking landscape.

Unhappy young man Davud (Orkhan Iskandarli) has a challenging life at home with his ailing elderly mother (Maryam Naghiyeva), but sets off on a motorcycle trip with a woman through the Azerbaijani capital Baku. He meets a man called the ‘Doctor’ and ends up killing a man, being pursued by 3 men that the Doctor sends after him.

He flees to the countryside and goes through a series of encounters—including a young woman in a wedding dress running from an arranged marriage (one of three roles played by Rana Asgarova)—but is still chased (in a rather leisurely fashion) by his pursuers.

His continuing journey, which includes moments of Davud in an imagined future life, sees as much attention paid to the pursuers as well as Davud, with the rich, changing series of backdrops offering up a great deal to support the storyline that veers between drama and dry humor.

The production credentials are resolutely impressive. Producers include Mexican auteur Carlos Reygadas as well as acclaimed American arthouse producer Joslyn Barnes, providing Baydarov (a former student of Bela Tarr) with the artistic support to be true to his contemplative film; a poetic road trip that delves deep into the soul.

Deborah Young wrote in The Hollywood Reporter: “The film registers most strongly through its visuals, which muster a powerful sense of the uncanniness of landscape, as when Davud and the bride wander across fields steeped in near-opaque white mist. DoP Elshan Abbasov—who doubles as producer and location manager—scores heavily both in the choice of weather-beaten settings and in capturing their scale and inhospitable eeriness.”

Mark Adams