If A Train Is Not Coming

An impressionistic documentary, depicting moments moments from a work day at a salt mining site during 1960s Bulgaria. The final cut. aptly titled "Salt" of the film consists of two versions of itself. The first is the original cut of the documentary, as the author imagined it, known as "Salt I". The second half is a heavily edited version, produced in accordance to terms, put forward by the Socialist Cultural Commitee at the time, called "Salt II".

A teenage girl's rebellion through drugs becomes a metaphor for the struggle between individuality and totalitarianism. Amidst the political upheaval of 1968, Sybilla (the "Countess") is sent to a girls' re-education camp when she is caught using drugs. After a failed affair and an abortion, Sybilla's drug use lands her in a mental clinic where she resists efforts to remold her personality. Based on a true story.

This interesting melodrama with a dash of political realism looks at the difficult adjustment to life in the city after a life in the countryside. Anna (Marianna Dimitrova) and her husband Ivan (Plamen Sirakov) move to the capital of Sofia in search of advancement. He works the day shift in a factory, and she works at night in a textile mill. That arrangement allows one of them to always be home with the children. Much to Anna's chagrin, a fellow worker develops a passion for her and almost drives a wedge between herself and her husband. Meanwhile, the owner of the villa they now share needs to use it again, so the two have to find an apartment. Worse yet, Anna's mother dies unexpectedly. But at least her death takes them back home and gives them a chance to re-examine their values before city life shreds them completely.

The story largely centers on a grandfather who finds himself deeply depressed by the dramatic downward turns Bulgarian society has taken. The changes of the past half century have created a deep communications gap between generations and he is unable to communicate with his troubled son. Nor is the old man able to do much to help his grandson who is making his first forays into criminal life, blaming it all on his mother who admits she is incapable of loving him. The grandfather tires of life with the bleak family and so goes to an old folks home. But that proves repressive, so he and a couple of friends leave to enact a money-making scheme. When that fails, the old man finds himself alone and destitute on the rough streets of Sofia where his despairing eyes witness the further ruination of his homeland.

The daily routine in the village of Yugla is broken by the statistician clerk Asenov, who comes with a mission to count the hare population in the locality. He makes the village mayor Bay Georgi mobilize the local men in realization of the absurd task. Same day all the village men are in the field - the mayor, the teacher, the veterinarian… Naturally all the efforts failed in fulfilling the mission since not a single hare was seen.

A common Bulgarian family spends a warm afternoon in the fall in a country house. The preparations for a dinner party are in full swing. The formal reason is that the son enlists in the Army and the real reason is to arrange a match between him and the daughter of the boss. All the schemes are frustrated as it turns out that the boy has already married another girl. Both the hosts and the guests lose control, unleashing a consecution of tragic or comic situations.

The young worker Pavlina and the student to be Vlado love each other. Vlado's father Parushev gets involved in their relationship. He is a director of the factory where the girl works. He sees a treat for the future and career of his son in that relationship. His fear of "unequal" marriage makes him exert psychological and moral pressure on Pavlina. Vlado has a weak character... Pavlina left alone to defend her love.

There were times when stealing girls in these lands has been a worthy vocation, was a habit and a sort of custom in Bulgaria. Only the strongest and most experienced men took the profession up. A young and brave Bulgarian highlander was given the job to bring, no matter how, a certain beautiful girl to be married to somebody.