Miki

In the 1990s post-communist Slovakia, former woods worker Miki takes his chances to start doing business at a local level and climb up the ladder to become the biggest mafia boss in the country.

Miki's a rather unusual Slovakian take on the gangster, organised crime, genre. It took ,me a while to warm to this film. Its slow pace and unfamiliar cultural vibe wasn't immediately accessible. That being said, if you give this film time, you get to see how universally familiar patterns of human behaviour, in this case, violent criminal behaviour, assert themselves. Miki, the main character, is a well rendered. He has a certain brutal depth to him, hes cruel, superficially charming in a rather basic way but also strangely honourable and loyal. Other characters, such as the violent, brother are also interesting, as is the obvious poverty and corruption in the unstable post Communist period of the early 1990's Slovakia. You can see how people like Miki, are ushered into the world of crime. The closing scene where Miki's mother finally see's him for who and what he is, is subtly done but compelling. Oh and let the credits roll as there are cut scenes that round out Miki's story. In summary, well acted, well written, with characters who feel real and relatable. Starts off slowly but gradually becomes a rather compelling watch.