Marketic It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

RogerTheMovieManiac88 'Kozijat rog' is a brutal and gripping revenge drama from Bulgaria. Based upon Nikolay Haitov's short story 'The Goat Horn', the film is set in the 17th or 18th Century when Bulgaria was part of the Ottoman Empire. The opening credits warn that the movie starts with an eruption of violence and so it does. A shepherd's wife is raped and murdered by a gang of four intruders in front of their little daughter, Maria. Raising her as a boy and training her to kill in cold blood, the shepherd plots to avenge his wife's horrific death.As his daughter blossoms into womanhood, thoughts of violence gradually leave her being as she yearns that her scarred heart may experience the gentleness and compassion of love. Maria's awakening and romance with a young shepherd displays a gentleness that is at odds with her father's destructive quest for revenge.Director Metodi Andonov sets the scene in a disrupted landscape of spartan pastoral simplicity that at first seems somewhat off-putting in its sheer rawness. The fact that he and his team managed to weave a narrative from this simplicity that builds and builds to such an involving level of lyrical potency says wonders for them as film-makers.The second half of 'Kozijat rog' contains some of the most riveting tragedic cinema I have ever seen. The performances of Katya Paskaleva and Anton Gorchev are mesmerising in their slow-burning level of intensity. This one is a haunting masterpiece that drew me in more and more with every passing minute and, ultimately, left me astounded as to its simple yet heart-breaking power. It is a movie that, I think, compares very favourably with Bergman's memorable 'Jungfrukallen' from 1960, and that is high praise indeed. This is a draining and moving gem to watch and a film whose primeval imagery sticks in one's mind.

Georgi Djulgerov One of outstanding Bulgarian films, One of the best screen versions of a short stories by Nikolai Haitov. This film is at once a parable and tragedy revealing by mean of lean dialogue and great dramatic tension the cruel history of Karaivan and his daughter Maria. The filmmakers - screenwriter Nikolai Haitov, director Metodi Andonov, cinematographer Dimo Kolarov, production designer Konstantin Dzhidrov,theme song written and performed by Mariya Neykova and at last, but not at least - the main actors Anton Gorcheb and Katya Paskaleva - denounce violence against human nature and defend the right to personal freedom. Katya Paskaleva played brilliantly two main female characters - this one of the mother and second one of Maria. After this film she became a great Bulgarian movie star.

louisferro This is an excellent movie, the Bulgarian equivalent to an Italian neo-realism masterpiece. The degree of freedom to artistic expression is extra-ordinary, especially if replaced into the context of the political environment prevailing in Bulgaria in the 70s. The practical absence of dialogue and music, (except for a very beautiful vocal), and the Black and White image emphasize the dramatic content of the movie. The direction is remarkable, and the play is first-class. Definitely, the best Bulgarian movie, and a must-see for every cinephile.

paveltsvetkov "Kozijat Rog" is by far the best Bulgarian film ever made.It has all the characteristics of greatness: a story that lacks nothing of the dramatic depths of classical tragedy; a frugal style of visual narrative that is both monumental and subtle; acting that is as good as real-life; and last but not least - music that is impossible to forget."Kozijat Rog" is conducted in the ways of old - with the power and gentleness of a true master. And although color loses its saturation with the passing of time, this film will not, for it is shot in black-and-white.