• Release year: 2024
• Director: Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov.
• Producers: Maria Bakalova, Kristina Grozeva, Julian Kostov, Konstantina Stavrianou, Petar Taralezhkov and Irini Vougioukalou.
• Screenplay by: Kristina Grozeva, Decho Taralezhkov and Petar Valchanov.
• Cinematography by: Krum Rodriguez.
• Music by: Thodoris Oikonomou.

Shotgun Commentary: hilarious, beyond any logic, and quite bittersweet.

Review

Triumph is a narrative based on real events that follows a small group of high-ranking officers in their ludicrous crusade to find an object of nature and appearance unknown that will make their country, Bulgaria, great again. The harmonious combination of humour and desperation, sadness and ridicule, makes this film unique at an emotional level. The more you get to know each character, the more you want to hug and laugh at them simultaneously.

Humour in the absurd

The story of Triumph took place at a very confusing time for eastern European countries. After the Fall of Communism, many of these countries saw the future as unclear and were worried of disappearing at the hands of the capitalists. As such, it is understandable that a group of officers from the Bulgarian Army were willing to believe anyone who tells them that they will be able to make their country flourish again. This has been overly simplified, but you get the gist of it.

This layer of desperation makes the hilarious absurdities of the film feel ambivalent. That is not to say you won’t laugh, you will, but there is always this underlaying sadness that covers the work. Their need for finding this unknown treasure that will make everything better will slowly but surely creep into your mind until you find yourself wanting to figure out the mystery as much as they do. It is a gradual but seamless engagement that becomes surprisingly strong considering the irrationality of their goal.

Generational battle

Arguably the most interesting characters of the film are the psychics. Both the senior psychic of the project, Pirina Nyagolova (Margita Gosheva), and the junior psychic, Slava Platnikova (Maria Bakalova), who is also the colonel’s daughter, drive the narrative. Two main themes can be extracted from their storylines: the age struggle and, unsurprisingly, sex.

Female characters of different generations fighting for the same goal is not a specially innovate theme. Just last month, The Substance (2024) was released, a film that makes the whole plot about how careless and egotistical young generations are (ageist stereotype) while complaining about how horrible the ageism is in the showbiz for women over thirty. But let’s not get into that again.

In a fantastic and praiseworthy twist, Triumph decides to bring the fight between women into a more realistic, contemporary and relevant theme: work. Avoiding hypocrisy, the feature does show Slava’s ambition and cunning, but also Pirina’s willingness to fight dirty the minute she feels threatened.

Contrary to previous films, neither Pirina nor Slava are heroes nor villains. They are women who use their available resources to achieve their goals. As such, their stand-off is a lot more intriguing, like a captivating chess game where the opponents are playing two different games but somehow manage to keep outdoing one another.

The sex taboo

As for the other theme, Triumph joins the longstanding tradition of films who punish women for “loosing their innocence”, for daring to have sexual desires and act on them. Nevertheless, it takes Slava’s point of view, effectively changing the narrative from a voyeuristic male gaze that revels in the punishment into a female-gazed commentary on the cruelty and injustice of the situation.

This particular moment also serves as the climax of the film, making it the most important twist of the story. One so crucial that it will determine the ending of a months-long mission, as well as of the film itself.

Overall, Triumph is a very original story with remarkable storytelling and complex characters. It plays with the limit between the known and the unknown to offer a plot full of mystery that doesn’t necessarily need to be wholly resolved to offer a fully constructed tale. As such, it is creative as well as absorbing. Big recommend if you are in the mood for something weird and fun.

Advice to take from this movie:

• Respect those who help you.
• Desperate people will believe anything and anyone.
• Don’t treat women like children, that is sooo last century.

What’s your take? Have you watched Triumph? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀