World Cup, Season 3, Match 1A: Russia vs Iran vs Croatia vs Burkina Faso

[PeacefulAnarchy]

I hope to vote, but no guarantee.

[Angel Glez]

1.Buud Yam
2.The Deer
3.My Son Don't Turn Round
4.The Cold Summer of 1953

And #3 is even in my <400 list... Very good choices, no doubt.

[Lonewolf2003]

I’m going to prioritize on my own film goals more, so not going to participate in every match. Especially in this first round with groups of 4. I probably will try to get full attendance again in the head-to-head matches.

[sortile9io]

I’m going to prioritize on my own film goals more, so not going to participate in every match. Especially in this first round with groups of 4. I probably will try to get full attendance again in the head-to-head matches.

Same for me.

[joachimt]

I’m going to prioritize on my own film goals more, so not going to participate in every match. Especially in this first round with groups of 4. I probably will try to get full attendance again in the head-to-head matches.

Same for me.

Is this because there are more movies in one match? The pace is roughly the same as previous seasons.

[Mario Gaborović]

I’m going to prioritize on my own film goals more, so not going to participate in every match. Especially in this first round with groups of 4. I probably will try to get full attendance again in the head-to-head matches.

Same for me.

Is this because there are more movies in one match? The pace is roughly the same as previous seasons.

They just don't watch too many films in general; judging by icm page, I rarely see sortile and Lonewolf checking.

However, they should try at least to help their countries to reach 2nd stage; for instance, 36 is a total outsider but Lonewolf could help it. Or groups that look strong, which you can see by the comments posted. If there's praise more than in other groups, that means you're likely to get pleasure from watching them. I mean now you can see that a particular group scheduled 6 months from now could be easily checked on time, right?

[Lonewolf2003]

Same for me.

Is this because there are more movies in one match? The pace is roughly the same as previous seasons.

They just don't watch too many films in general; judging by icm page, I rarely see sortile and Lonewolf checking.

Only here someone would say that about me. I watch about 40 movies a month.

[Lonewolf2003]

I’m going to prioritize on my own film goals more, so not going to participate in every match. Especially in this first round with groups of 4. I probably will try to get full attendance again in the head-to-head matches.

Same for me.

Is this because there are more movies in one match? The pace is roughly the same as previous seasons.

Partly, I was already planning on not going full attendance again in the WC. So with groups of 3 I also would have participated less. But having to see 4 doesn’t help.

[Mario Gaborović]

Is this because there are more movies in one match? The pace is roughly the same as previous seasons.

They just don't watch too many films in general; judging by icm page, I rarely see sortile and Lonewolf checking.

Only here someone would say that about me. I watch about 40 movies a month.

Dunno, we're friends and I don't get that much news feed of you... strange.

In that case, I don't see why don't you watch WC films but prefer to watch something else. It doesn't make sense considering your monthly tally and dedication in general.

I know I'll graze each nation's cinematic tip of the iceberg sooner or later, so why don't watch it now when I can contribute with voting, right?

[sortile9io]

I’m going to prioritize on my own film goals more, so not going to participate in every match. Especially in this first round with groups of 4. I probably will try to get full attendance again in the head-to-head matches.

Same for me.

Is this because there are more movies in one match? The pace is roughly the same as previous seasons.

I feel like some free wandering at this moment. But I agree with Lonewolf that a group of four is somehow a better incentive for laziness than a group of three. At least for me since I've watched only a handful of films from the first round, all in different groups. However, some of them are personal favourites so I will probably be back to support them. But that will be in springtime.

[sortile9io]

Same for me.

Is this because there are more movies in one match? The pace is roughly the same as previous seasons.

However, they should try at least to help their countries to reach 2nd stage.

Mine won't need any extra help.

[Fergenaprido]

Spoilers Abound!

Kholodnoye leto pyatdesyat tretego/The Cold Summer of 1953 - This was slow to get started, but once it did I enjoyed it more. imdb calls it an action film, but I think of it more as a slow-building thriller. The girl pissed me off, but I guess she was supposed to represent that spoiled/rebellious teenage type. I also lost track of the bandits. I only counted six being killed (loverboy with a knife when he tried to rape Shura, the two men in the forest when they went to investigate, one in the field when the 3 were ambushed, one in the boat, and one drowned after killing the girl. When was the 7th killed?). Overall, it was decent.
Gavaznha/The Deer(s) - Another slow-starter that got better over time. I don't know what it says about me that I was sympathetic to the landlord at times. Some of the side characters seemed pointless as well. I can understand why it was banned and how it could have impacted contemporary Iranian society.
Ne okreći se sine/My Son Don't Turn Around/Don't Look Back, My Son - The best of the bunch, it was quicker to get to the meat of the plot than the others. Less war-focused than I'd expected, but no less enthralling. I don't fully understand the shoeshine boy character; he was collaborating with the drunkard officer, but seemed willing to help out the Novaks in the end, just because there was a kid? The tragic ending was inevitable, but I kept hoping for something better for the engineer.
Buud Yam - A dramatic journey film, bordering on fantasy/magical realism. I think I liked this better than the first film, maybe because it relied less on child actors. A pet peeve of mine is when they don't properly convey in subtitles which language is being spoken. They often use italics to indicate singing, or have different speakers subtitled on different sides of the screen, but they don't have something to indicate language. I feel it's important for the audience to know, so we can better grasp if a character can understand other characters or not, regardless of if we speak any of the languges of the film. Aside from that, my attention went in and out.

1. My Son Don't Turn Round - 7.8
2. The Cold Summer of 1953 - 7.4
3. The Deer - 7.4
4. Buud Yam - 7.4

The last three are pretty close, and hovering around the cutoff for any favourite/best-of list I make. This is the order that resonates with me right now, but this may change over time.
Quick edit: switched 3 & 4. Now it feels right.

[joachimt]

Ne okreci se sine: 2.119 (79-47)
Buud Yam: 2.381 (68-58)
Kholodnoe leto pyatdesyat tretego: 2.714 (54-72)
Gavaznha: 2.786 (51-75)

17.5 hours left

[jdidaco]

1. Buud Yam
2. Gavaznha
3. Kholodnoe leto pyatdesyat tretego
4. Ne okreci se sine

Congratulations to the managers, excellent choices all, a very strong group, liked all of them.

[filmbantha]

1. Buud Yam
2. Kholodnoe leto pyatdesyat tretego
3. Gavaznha
4. Ne okreci se sine

Thanks to the managers for picking these films. I enjoyed all of them which made the ranking pretty tricky - great start to the tournament.

[joachimt]

44 votes. Can we reach 50?

[Armoreska]

Croatia had a solid handicap and now it's almost gone

[joachimt]

Croatia had a solid handicap and now it's almost gone

Ne okreci se sine: 2.205 (79-53)
Buud Yam: 2.318 (74-58)
Kholodnoe leto pyatdesyat tretego: 2.705 (57-75)
Gavaznha: 2.773 (54-78)

[connordenney]

1. NE OKRECI SE SINE
2. KHOLODNOE LETO PYATDESYAT TRETEGO
3. GAVAZNHA
4. BUUD YAM

[monty]

I’m going to prioritize on my own film goals more, so not going to participate in every match. Especially in this first round with groups of 4. I probably will try to get full attendance again in the head-to-head matches.

Same for me.

Ditto.

[Carmel1379]

I’m going to prioritize on my own film goals more, so not going to participate in every match. Especially in this first round with groups of 4. I probably will try to get full attendance again in the head-to-head matches.

Same for me.

Ditto.

Me too.

At least for the time being I really ought to limit the number of films I watch, so if I still want to prioritise the films on my own watchlist I'll have to give up on the World Cup, at least its first several months.

[PeacefulAnarchy]

1. Gavaznha
2. Buud Yam
3. Kholodnoe leto pyatdesyat tretego
4. Ne okreci se sine

All good, none great, though Gavaznha could have been with a little better editing and pacing. It has the best underlying core, and despite the rough presentation is really effective at making you feel the desperation, turmoil and social conflict.

Buud Yam is a leans a bit much on travelogue variety that seems a bit far fetched narratively but it still makes for a compelling film.

The Russian film is strong well paced and works even if the main through-line is telegraphed really early, but the awkward dubbing and some of the acting hold it back. Despite all the soviet commentary that ties it to a specific place and time its probably the most timeless of the four. I could easily see this being remade with minor changes and making a truly great movie in the right hands.

The Croatian film is solid all around, not much to complain about, but it never hits the emotional resonance it strives for. I've just seen too many similar films done better.

[funkybusiness]

1. Buud Yam
2. The Cold Summer of 1953
3. The Deers
4. My Son Don’t Turn Around

[funkybusiness]

....I usually just copy/paste someone else’s ranking, but, strangely, no one has ranked them the same as me.

buddy.

[joachimt]

Deadline is over. This is the final score:

Ne okreci se sine: 2.255 (82-59)
Buud Yam: 2.319 (79-62)
Kholodnoe leto pyatdesyat tretego: 2.681 (62-79)
Gavaznha: 2.745 (59-82)

Croatia and Burkina Faso proceed to round two. Congratulations to Mochard and hurluberlu. Also thanks to blocho and zhangalan for their picks and thanks to the 47 people who voted in this match!!

[zhangalan]

Great match!
Congratulations to Mochard and hurluberlu.
Also thanks Blocho's support to the Cup.
Although we lose, let's hope our choices can get more attention on this forum. ;)

[Nathan Treadway]

Goodbye, Iran.

[jvv]

Wait for Burkina Faso magic to play out...

Hate to break it to you but usually the film I vote for loses

But this time it got through.

[Mario Gaborović]

Goodbye, Iran.

Believe it or not, Iran currently has 1-6 score in three world cups while Croatia performed 5-1. Maybe it's time for Abbas Kiarostami to be chosen next time.

[hurluberlu]

This has been fun, can't wait for round 2 ! Thanks for all the support to Buud Yam !

[Mochard]

Yay! I think! I guess I have plenty of time to get watching more Croatian movies! I'm enjoying this world cup a little more than last season, probably because I'm a manager