The Great Water

Ivo Trajkov's drama focuses on an aged Macedonian politician whose early life flashes before his eyes after he suffers a heart attack. As an orphaned boy in the wake of World War II, Lem (Kekenovski) is raised at a draconian school that "reprogrammed" the children of parents who were believed to be enemies of Stalin. Lem befriends rebellious classmate Isak (Stankovska), and the two share extreme versions of the usual joys and betrayals that boyhood pals experience. But the film pays more attention to its lovely cinematography than it does to delving beneath the obvious.