Director: Matej Kováč
Writers: Matej Kováč & Karin Kissová
Cast: Jana Olhová, Henrieta Virágová, Zuzana Martinková, Kevin Fukas
Running time: 26mins
Covid-19 hit in 2020, five years ago. You probably don’t need to be reminded; it was a big deal for everyone. It was a generational shock – with the ensuing quarantine and the economic difficulties influencing everyone in the world, at the same time, in a way few things have in recent decades. Amid this, countless artists drew inspiration from the situation, creating music, literature, and, of course, films.
Do Not Disturb is one of those films; it describes two perspectives, one doctor who is constantly on duty and worries about her own life in the meantime, and one citizen who has trouble conforming to the given solution of the vaccines and the constant tests. Even though the word ‘coronavirus’ is never mentioned, it is a time that everybody who lived through the pandemic will immediately relate to, without having to have it spelled out explicitly. The story, the characters and the problems will all stoke memories of the lockdown era (in a way that some may even be triggered by).
The film is set during the initial big outbreak of the virus, and the constant chaos which ensued. It starts in documentary form, showing a doctor (who is constantly worrying and affected by the situation) struggling to help as many patients as she can. On the other side of reality, a Roma family is struggling with everything: from the disease circling them, and especially the asthma-bearing child, to the bullying and social exclusion they are all facing.
The story progresses rapidly, creating many dilemmas and frustration when the characters encounter each other. Everybody seems to be in a different state regarding their situation and their reality. While the main theme of the film is still present in every shorter storyline, some should be highlighted more while some could have also been discarded (given a short film cannot ‘hold’ so many situations and ‘messages’); granted, this is very difficult to do with a complicated main issue as the base of the film.
Beyond the literal aspects of the film, I cannot leave out how important and interesting the music was. The electronic elements creating the eerie vibe needed, while the acoustic elements bringing the human side and emotions to the foreground was a great choice for the soundtrack. The sound design and cinematography also work great, creating a dark and heavy atmosphere throughout.
Usually, I am a fan of lighter moments in such heavy films, however the lack of those did wonders for the film in total, as the audience could not get out of the severity and life-threatening situations that were presented constantly. There is not much to add, cinematically the film has taken advantage of all the opportunities it had, shifting from documentary style to fiction in a subtle but clear way, and using the sound elements to its capacity.
We all know the doctors’ struggles during Covid-19. We all had to experience the fear and agony during this hard time, when it was highlighted more than ever how wrong our priorities are as a society. The doctor on this film has her own professional but also personal struggles (a very clever ‘Do not disturb’ sign on her door that has become the title of the film highlights her own issues), that are revealed somewhere after the middle of the film; however, it was not an impossible guess. The actress plays tremendously well and kind of gives away this ‘twist’ (be certain that it is not the only twist in the film).
The characters in the Roma family also act great, maybe a bit too dramatic for my taste, but at the same time it fits perfectly the vibe and goal of the film. The mother of the family, a scared and marginalised woman, is always on edge and reacting to the developments of reality each day. We see her only praying and judging her own mother for the vaccines; although I would love to see her character given a little more complexity, with more interactions in ‘real life’. I would even trade the bullying scenes for those, as they seemed a little superfluous to the central story. That is not because they were not good, they just added a new element for which the film had no time or energy.
The film hits where it should. The narrative moves faster in the second segment of the film, in a way that does not let the events ‘sit’ with the viewer as much as it could. The buildup of the twist is set in a great way, but the events take place with a bit of an uneven rhythm and some added elements that could not be there, and so what could be an explosion of emotions is somewhat underwhelmed; that does not mean there is no hit, rather that the rhythm should have been more consistent in those final moments. When the viewer stands with themselves, they will still think about the tragedy of this film.
The film was a hard watch – but in the most appropriate way. It brings back memories many of us would be happy to leave behind, and touches on ethical dilemmas which we still may not have answers for. In that case, while it is a fictional story, I would recommend being ready for some heavy themes and painful memories. It is very difficult to grasp such a complicated set of stories and emotions in such a short film; but the ending makes the film’s point, how complicated the situation can be, and it will definitely sit with the audience for a while after the screening. Having pulled it off here, then, I would love to see how the director handles other hard-hitting subjects with more time in their hands, and more space to fill in background information about the characters.