By Amy Watkins
Huckleberry Finn meets The Walking Dead in Vardan Tozija’s post-apocalyptic fairytale “M”, a powerful and heartbreaking fable about childhood innocence amidst the stark horrors of a lost humanity.
In a secluded forest, young boy Marko (Matej Sivakov) and his paranoid father (Sashko Kocev) live an isolated life, sheltered from a plague-infected world. With his vivid imagination, and the help of a picture book his father created, Marko treats his new world as a fairytale, believing the forest protects him from the horrors beyond. As a lonely Marko journeys further into his forest sanctuary, he meets Miko (Aleksandar Nichovsk), an autistic child who becomes his friend. But when Marko’s father and Miko’s mother become infected, the pair embark on a journey to find Marko’s mother, whom they believe is a fairy.
From the offset, Tozija perfectly encapsulates the loss of childhood innocence. Both boys are lost and alone in a desolate world, relying solely on their imaginations to preserve an innocent outlook on the world around them. And one of M’s strengths is its use of magical realism to juxtapose Marko’s imaginary world with the harsh reality he lives in. The story seamlessly transitions between Marco’s imagined adventures and the grim reality of the world around him.
Marko suffers loss along the way, and it’s only in the film’s climax that we see Marko for what he is – a child lost, scared, and alone. It’s a gut-wrenching moment to see this young child, who was so consumed by his innocence and imagination, suddenly shatter all the hope he’d held onto throughout the film. M isn’t your typical post-apocalyptic film. Tozija doesn’t rely on overt scares and excessive gore to keep you hooked. Instead, he takes us on a journey through a desolate world through the eyes of a child. The true horror in M isn’t the monsters or the wasteland itself, but the emotional and psychological toll the world takes on Marko.
In his film debut, Matej Sivakov was exceptional as Marko, with a powerful performance that makes us instantly connect with his character. Not only does he perfectly capture Marko’s innocence, but his climatic performance will stick with you long after the credits roll. Equally, Sashko Kocev offered a raw performance as the father, depicting the paranoia and anger that is typical of a post-apocalyptic film. Combining the pair, you’ve got a strained relationship that translated beautifully on screen.
Beyond its substantial storytelling, M is further enhanced by its auditory and visual features that considerably increase the story’s impact. Tozija creates a mystical, yet dystopian environment, which evokes as much disgust as it does beauty. We see both sides of this new world; an enchanting forest that serves as a sanctuary for the characters, and the desolated world beyond with few remnants of humanity.
Tozija is artistic with his handling of the film, offering a glimpse into humanity’s future, while maintaining the purity of Marko and Miko’s vision. M is unlike any horror you’ve seen before, a gut-wrenching story that proves that even in its worst days, the world is better viewed through a child’s lens.
M screened as part of Grimmfest 2024.
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