Critics about "The Gambler" after the première at the San Sebastian Film Festival
During the world première at the San Sebastian Film Festival, "The Gambler" has been billed by critics as one of the biggest hopes of the festival. Spanish film critic Joan Sala sees in the works of Ignas Jonynas the modern-day Dostoyevsky: "Suffused with controversy and volatility, this debut is brutally convincing. The film by Lithuanian Ignas Jonynas reveals woes of the society in which not a vestige of solidarity, brotherhood and loyalty to one another has remained. Here people live in alienated world and are guided by the principle every man for himself. Even ambulance drivers are involved in the macabre and unimaginable gambling. Which of the patients will die first - the answer to this question is sought by all the participants in the game, since the correct guess means benefit for their pocket. Love, life and death - everything is at stake in this titanic debut, behind the grim truth and morbid magic of which we could see even the shadow of Dostoevsky himself.
Swedish and Danish film critic, author of the book about Lars von Trier, Jan Lumholdt, praises "The Gambler" for significant contribution to changing the face of Northern European cinema. "Superb acting, good selection of locations and cinematography leads me to believe that like all Welsh are able to sing, and all Brazilians - to play football, so every Lithuanian has excellent knowledge of photography. In addition, it's touching to see Mekas' daughter continuing the family tradition. This exciting, sometimes sad, sometimes truly funny film features exceptional attention to detail. Background for its original idea arises from both modern and archaic national circumstances. I also see some perverted humour in the film, which, although associated with Eastern European eccentricity does not seem so alien to the Scandinavian [humour]. I look forward to the future works of these Lithuanians, which will be a significant contribution to the Northern European cinema."
Film critics named this year's San Sebastian Festival New Directors section, along with "The Gambler" as the star of the festival. "The director deserves particular praise for eliciting some excellent central performances of Vytautas Kaniušonis and American/Lithuanian actress Oona Mekas in Ignas Jonynas’s gripping "The Gambler"," - writes the British film critic Amber Wilkinson in FilmMaker Magazine. "No less important secondary characters in the film remind of the game played in the basement by the ambulance driver in the cursed Lars von Trier's "Kingdom" (Danish cult TV series "Riget") hospital. Just the ending here is not cultivated to the absurd - of all possible options, it seems the most adequate and appropriate," - notes the portal of Spanish film critics Planeta Claqueta. "The film with an open ending shows us that entire life is a game", - about "The Gambler" wrote Spanish newspaper Heraldo de Aragón.
Exceptional attention to the Lithuanian film was shown also by the San Sebastian film festival director Jose Luis Rebordinos. He personally selected eight films representing this year's festival out of 60, among which also was "The Gambler". These director's favourites will represent the already passed film festival and will be shown in Bilbao. Presenting "The Gambler", Jose Luis Rebordinos identifies it as "the first work of yet unfamiliar Lithuanian cinematography, participating in major festivals".
"The Gambler" is the first Lithuanian-Latvian co-production feature film in history of independent film, developed in collaboration of film production companies Studio Uljana Kim and Locomotive Productions. Production of the film was supported by the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture, Lithuanian Film Centre, National Film Center of Latvia, the European Union's MEDIA Programme, and EURIMAGES - European Cinema Support Fund.