Love drives lonely caligrapher insane

By Estela Fuentes
The Guardsman

“The Man Who Sold The World” was the man who stole my heart, figuratively speaking that is.

This drama-filled movie had me on the edge of my seat and a sniffle away from a tear. It is a story full of love, torment and confusion.

Based on Fyodor Doestoyevsky’s “A Weak Heart,” the film takes place in an unknown war-ridden country.

It is the story of a man who never thought he could have happiness. But, in what seems to him to be over night, he finds the happiness he’d always dreamed of.

The main character is referred to only as “X,” which gives the story a sense of mystery. X grew up an orphan along his best friend and surrogate brother Ney. These two were all each other ever had, and X felt that Ney was the only person who ever accepted him because of his physically deformed foot.

But one day he meets Lili, a beautiful woman who sings and dances; and who also knows what it’s like to be an orphan. X would watch her stage act daily until one day they talked. They went on to develop a relationship and he proposed to her, which is when the movie actually starts.

When X finally tells Ney about Lili and his plans for marriage, Ney interrogates him, asking whether he really thinks he can live a normal man’s life with a wife and a home of his own.

But Ney quickly shifts gears and becomes supportive of X’s future. He says that as they’ve always lived for each other, they will continue to do so, and he commits to helping X give his wife anything she may need.

X ends up with a happiness overload so to speak. He is overwhelmed by his emotions and feels that he doesn’t deserve the things he has when so many other people around the world live in sadness and despair. He feels that he is trampling over people to be happy, and the guilt consumes him.

To some the film may seem slow, but I think this allows the audience to connect more with the characters.

I don’t know much about cinematography but I loved the concept of various flashbacks to better support the story, as well as the different shooting techniques which were obviously done for dramatic effect.

I haven’t read Doestoyevsky’s book, so it took me a couple of minutes to tie the story together, but once I did, it made sense. I could feel X’s inner conflict and pain, and it made me fall in love with the film. I’ve even decided to start reading the book as soon as I can break free from The Guardsman.

This film will play at Shattuck Cinemas in Berkeley on Oct. 22 at 9 p.m. as part of the Arab Film Festival.