Vilnius review: Past The Hill of Napoleon’s Hat (2025)
Kino Pavasaris
National Short Film Competition
The title of Arnas Balčiūnas’ solemn family drama, which is currently being shown in the national short film competition of Kino Pavasaris, is based on Lepelionys Mound, also known as Napoleon’s Hat, situated in the Prienai District of Lithuania. It revokes a memory from some happier times in the life of a man estranged from his parents under unclear circumstances and physically separated from his son for a long time. How and why is redundant for the story of alienation with something mysterious and more significant lurking in the past.
When Martynas (Martynas Mockevičius) picks up his father (“Motherland” by Tomas Vengris) from a psychiatric hospital to drive him to the grandparents’ house, the atmosphere in the car is tense. Both men don’t know what to say to each other until they reach the eponymous Mound. It is a place of significance for a man choking on his emotions. He tells a story about their excursion to this popular spot when Martynas was a little boy. The man’s memory is maybe just as foggy as the granular photography of this movie shot on film by the cinematographer Milda Juodvalkytė or even a pure product of his phantasy caused by strong medication. Maybe it’s none of the two but a wish, a mental whisper, or a missed opportunity. Regardless of the melancholy and love in the man’s voice, the son doesn’t react to his tale. His gaze is slightly nervous, glued to the dust road.
Built on a well-penned script and superior performances, Past The Hill of Napoleon’s Hat is a movie that relies more on suggestions and body language than on words. Its visuals sync with the story, with colours drained of intensity and reduced to their drabbest hues, enhancing the morose sentiments. Balčiūnas’ third short (Through Gloom / Blausos in 2022 and Hubble’s Law / Hablo dėsnis in 2024) is wonderfully accomplished and stays long in the viewer’s mind. It is an example of a movie that doesn’t overstay its time and says it all in just a 15-minute runtime. Mostly, it’s the emotional expressiveness that this movie about the complexity of familial relationships excels at on multiple levels without giving the story’s background or escalating the situation. Non-verbal communication prevails, and it tells more than a thousand words.
Original Title: Pravažiavus Napoleono Kepurę
Production country: Lithuania
Language: Lithuanian
Year: 2025
Genre: Fiction
Runtime: 15′
Producer: Augustė Puteikytė
Production Company: Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater
Written|Directed by: Arnas Balčiūnas
Cinematographer: Milda Juodvalkytė
Editor: Antanas Skridaila
Sound Designer: Fausta Pilkaitė
Set Designer: Diana Tumenaite
Costume Designers: Ula Rukaite, Teja Tarvydaite
Cast: Martynas Mockevičius, Darius Gumauskas
