The Long Dark Marathon of the Soul 2019: The Precinct, or Sahǝ (2010), directed by Ilgar Safat

The Trailer

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The Appropriate Tune: "Girls on Film", by Duran Duran

       As the years have gone by and the Marathon has grown to be pretty much the only thing I do on this blog, the decision of what movies I want to cover for the list has undergone some changes as well.That the Marathon be open to genre films other than horror was the first and perhaps most obvious choice, but another that I’ve decided to adopt permanently is that the final 10 films would be dedicated to foreign films, meaning ones not from the U.S., Canada, or Great Britain. We’ve seen attempts at it back in Marathon ‘16, and again in ‘18, but this is hopefully going to be the full and proper debut of it. As for why I decided that this was to be how it is, besides to honor the fact that many of my readers tend not to be from the U.S., Canada, and Great Britain, it’s simply because it’s interesting to me. It’s interesting to see perspectives and cultures other than my own, and it’s especially interesting to see how that is filtered through the medium of film, genre films in the case of our blog. So why not celebrate it, even if being the top 10 on an obscure blog in the bowels of the internet is the worst kind of celebration? Why not, if it’s there to be seen? 

I dunno, I’m feeling very philosophical tonight I guess.

Released in 2010 and former Oscar contender for Best Foreign Film, Ilgar Safat’s Sahǝ, or The Precinct, is the first film I’ve covered from the country of Azerbaijan, a country I’ve never visited but am sure is lovely. Zaza Bejashvilli stars as Garib, a well-known photographer of the artful and erotique. Garib is engaged to be married to Sabina, another artist, but an unexpected letter from London about work in Africa threatens to derail their relationship, until they are actually derailed and their car careens off of a cliff. The two are picked up by a passing pair of police officers, but instead of being taken to a hospital, they are taken to ‘the precinct’, a dingy place that seems to contain no one but their boss. The boss seems equally uninterested in the couple’s plight, seemingly taking great pleasure in harassing the two and charging them with illegal and immoral behavior. Soon however, it goes beyond mere accusations and insinuations: The boss knows Garib, knows things about him that he thought he had left behind years ago, the sins that he had tried desperately to forget. A story about a young Garib, a woman named Alina, and the sordid tale that unfolds.

       The first thing that comes to mind when watching The Precinct is probably the 1990 Adrian Lyne film Jacob’s Ladder, or more accurately the Silent Hill series of video games that were inspired by that film. I mean the protagonists are taken to a dilapidated building with strangely threatening people, which leads into the protagonist exploring their past mistakes set to ominous music, throw in some monsters and the Konami logo and you’d be all set. The Precinct never goes full on horror though, as the focus (and a good chunk of screen time) is centered on the flashback to Garib’s past. Comparisons could also be made to A Christmas Carol or some other kind of morality play, where the sinner (Garib in this case) is put face to face with their sins thanks to some kind of supernatural force, with the intent of having them repent and mending their ways. Personally I would’ve liked to see some intense surrealist visuals, as has been made clear with Wild at Heart and Die Farbe previously, but then it probably wouldn't have gotten that Oscar nomination, so I guess it was best to stick with the depressing childhood trauma.      

I also like the fact that The Precinct felt, at least the version I watched, like it was filmed on actual film, rather than the digital stuff we’re used to nowadays. I could be wrong about that, I don’t know how prevalent the technology was in 2010, but I hope I’m not because I’ve always enjoyed the feel of ‘analog’ films. Maybe it’s because I grew upin the waning days of VHS tapes and CRT televisions, but there’s a metaphorical layer of dust movies back then that gave them a sense of reality when compared to the cut and dry, laminated movies of today. Which might all come across as pretentious drivel, as how the film was made was not by choice but by necessity, based on the equipment available to them, but either way I like the look, so I felt like mentioning it. People like to say that the best art is made under rough conditions, although that might just be the excuse they use not to pay artists.

       It’s definitely the movie to watch if you care about Garib in particular Sabina, by contrast isn’t much of a character, and who doesn’t seem to care much for anything beyond Garib marrying her. Not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things I suppose, as is it a story about Garib and how he came to be who he is today, but considering that there are only four named female characters in the film; A nude model named Janet (who has the most awkward dialogue in the film), Sabina, the man-hating mother-in-law, and Alina (who has her own set of problems as it turns out). Not the strongest cast, in that case. I mean if the film is trying to make a point about the degrading nature of pornography, and it’s brought up too many times for it not to be, it seems to be from a distinctly male-centric point of view, of how making it and selling it affects the male characters, and the women are neutral figures in the process. I mean you could even attribute Garirb’s ultimate actions in the film to base guilt over actual remorse, although that might be me getting a little too analytical.

       To be honest, going into this I was expecting something with a few more bells & whistles, but what I got was still a decent little mystery movie. Good music, good acting, a couple thrills and a slightly eerie vibe in what ends up being an engaging drama. I don’t know if it would have won the Oscar even if the film that had won it wasn’t there, but it was nonetheless an entertaining film. It gets the recommendation, throw it on a double feature with Jacob’s Ladder or maybe even Lost Highway this Halloween.