Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Urok

Play trailer Urok 2014 1h 47m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
83% Tomatometer 23 Reviews 68% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
A hard-working teacher in a small Bulgarian town is driven to desperate measures to avoid financial ruin.

Where to Watch

Urok

Critics Reviews

View All (23) Critics Reviews
Mark Kermode Observer (UK) Gosheva dominates the screen, her expressive face leading us through a minefield of conflicting emotions toward battle-hardened resolve. Rated: 4/5 Dec 6, 2015 Full Review Kevin Maher Times (UK) The Lesson takes a simple, and hardly extravagant premise and somehow constructs, out of this initial set-up, a gripping, increasingly desperate, and often wildly intense narrative rollercoaster. Rated: 4/5 Dec 3, 2015 Full Review Peter Bradshaw Guardian There's an awful fascination to this bleak movie from Bulgarian writer-directors Petar Valchanov and Kristina Grozeva, whose feature debut has something of the deadpan drear and social satire of the new Romanian cinema. Rated: 4/5 Dec 3, 2015 Full Review Pablo O. Scholz Clarín The film is a criticism of the system, exploitation, corruption and usury. [Full review in Spanish] Jan 20, 2018 Full Review Jorge Ayala Blanco El Universal The feature debut of the Bulgarian directors, Grozeva and Valchanov, is heir to the best Italian post-neorealism. [Full review in Spanish] Sep 20, 2017 Full Review Javier Porta Fouz La Nación (Argentina) A film with a coherent audiovisual appearance but abuses of the "the world is horrible" card. [Full review in Spanish] Oct 10, 2016 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (10) audience reviews
Alain E In summary, post socialism Bulgaria is a disaster zone. The movie progresses slowly and nothing remarkable takes place. The heroine teaches English in 6th grade or so. Has married an unemployed drunkard who instead of paying the mortgage spends the money elsewhere. She gets into a panic mode when they are about to lose the house. Tries to get money from her father, but the attempt fails when she insults his current girlfriend. Gets a loan from a loan shark who demands repayment in blowjobs. Her solution is to rob a bank -successfully-with a water pistol. This is probably the lesson of the movie. If you have urgent need for cash when visiting Bulgaria, use an ATM or travel with a water pistol. This movie was highly recommended by The Guardian and I kept expecting that it would improve. You have been forewarned. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 09/08/24 Full Review chris k A very nicely narrated film that, despite its flaws, is absolutely on-point. The protagonist's acting and the direction are both wonderful, its plot is suspenseful and engaging and, finally, it is a story that feels real and successfully avoids melodrama. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Ethics and trials - a great Anima figure for a nation Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Audience Member Detailed criticism in Turkish language is downlink : http://www.novicinema.com/2017/03/bir-toplumsal-anomi-portresi-urok.html Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Refreshing to see a movie so real and neutral in so many ways. Interesting plot and story line that unfolds on neutral ground. No typical predictable hollywood writing in this movie. I look forward to seeing more from this director. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member A film which generates edge-of-the-seat tension from a seemingly oridnary story. The focus of the film is Nada's efforts to save her house from being repossessed after her husband has failed to repay a loan and as problem follows problem I found my stomach tightening and tightening. The complete lack of 'dramatic' background music added to the realism of the depiction and thus my empathy for the very real human drama being portrayed. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Urok

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Stray Dogs 86% 52% Stray Dogs Watchlist Heli 58% 62% Heli Watchlist A Girl at My Door 93% 74% A Girl at My Door Watchlist The Incident 38% 20% The Incident Watchlist Good Day, Ramon 100% 82% Good Day, Ramon Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis A hard-working teacher in a small Bulgarian town is driven to desperate measures to avoid financial ruin.
Director
Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov
Producer
Poli Angelova, Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov, Magdelena Ilieva, Konstantina Stavrianou, Irini Vougioukalou
Screenwriter
Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov
Production Co
Abraxas Film
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Bulgarian
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 25, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$5.3K
Runtime
1h 47m
Most Popular at Home Now