From the ashes, detective podcasters dig up a metal joint with the words Bulgaria written on it in large letters. This is a scene from the fourth season of the popular New York series "Murders in the Building" (Only murders in the building). The podcasters investigate the murder of a stuntwoman who regularly traveled to Bulgaria to replace her broken bones - an unexpected and slightly wacky reference to the country that American moviegoers are clearly familiar with from the numerous film productions in Boyana.
There is also another reference to the country - one of the characters (played by Steve Martin) understands what else is written on the joint because he learned Bulgarian while voicing a series about the market in... Macedonia.
Against the backdrop of the scandal surrounding Bernard Shaw's play "The Guns and the Man", staged by John Malkovich at the National Theater in Sofia, let's take a curious walk through world literature and cinema, looking for mentions of Bulgaria and Bulgarians. Without any claims to be exhaustive or scientific, of course - there are certainly in-depth studies on the topic. We move through the pages and strips in telegraphic style:
Voltaire, Dumas, Tolstoy
In his famous work "Candide" Voltaire uses "the Bulgarians" as a literary tool for his satirical criticism of war and violence in Europe. Bulgarians in the context of the Ottoman Empire are also briefly mentioned by Alexandre Dumas in "The Count of Monte Cristo". We also find similar mentions in Russian writers such as Leo Tolstoy ("War and Peace") and Fyodor Dostoevsky ("The Brothers Karamazov"), as well as in "The Bridge on the Drina" by Nobel laureate Ivo Andrić. Bulgaria is mentioned in passing in the cult novel "Dracula" by Bram Stoker, as well as in a number of other works of Victorian literature in England, and in general the country and its inhabitants are associated with something strange, slightly wild, but also exotic. Still, better than nothing, right?
In contemporary literature about Bulgaria and Bulgarians, mostly authors who have some connection with the country write in detail: Elizabeth Kostova, Dubravka Ugreshic, Iliya Troyanov, Sibile Levicharov. A mini list of topics with some "Bulgarian connection" in international literature would look like this: historical and political conflicts, cultural heritage and folklore, shared Balkan identity, immigrant stories. And of course, the Cold War, espionage and the "Bulgarian umbrella", which is a favorite Bulgarian reference in numerous books, films and TV series.
Stories about the mafia and memories of the NRB
In the spy thriller "Queen, King, Ace, Spy", Bulgaria is discussed precisely in the context of the clash between the secret services on both sides of the Iron Curtain. And in one of the numerous James Bond films, a small part of the action takes place in Bulgaria. I am not even mentioning the dozens of second-rate film productions, where the Bulgarian secret services from the time of the NRB are presented sometimes comically (with lampoons), sometimes in a dark, and often grotesque light. Yes, they were sinister, but also deadly incompetent, so they are fully worthy of second-rate cinema.
After the end of the Cold War, Western filmmakers seem to particularly like Bulgaria as a territory where dark mafias, unscrupulous drug traffickers and arms dealers, skillful con artists and Russian agents operate. In the American series "Madam Secretary of State", for example, Bulgaria is "host" of separate episodes twice: once on the occasion of a cyber-attack organized by the Russian embassy in Sofia (a reference to the so-called "Havana Syndrome"), and the second time in connection with Russia's attempt to occupy the Black Sea coast with military force and "little green men". In the French political-financial series "For Blood and Money" while the main financial house that runs the largest tax fraud from the French state (through the trade in CO2 certificates) is hiding in Sofia, under the leadership of a director named Borislav Ivanov.
Of course, here we cannot ignore an action movie with a controversial reputation that was filmed in Bulgaria: "The Invincibles". And let us recall Boyko Borisov's joy at the hugs and joint photos with Hollywood stars such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone.
Bulgaria and Bulgarians are also mentioned in a number of other famous international series such as "The Black Dahlia" and "The Blacklist" - in this case, the black colors are not necessarily related to the country. The same applies to the mention in the cult series "In the Devil's Shoes" (Breaking Bad), which recounts in detail the story of the murder of Georgi Markov.
When Tom Hanks uses what he learned from his father-in-law
But after so many negative, vampire, spy, "black" and "diabolic" associations have accumulated, let's lighten up with a few more fun and cheerful "Bulgarian" finds in cinema. For example, in legendary series like "The Simpsons", where the members of a fictitious rock band boast that they are very popular in Bulgaria, "Alf" or "Friends". Well, there it is again in passing, but somehow with a good feeling - it is still something.
Through the Bulgarian perspective, this is how another famous film looks - "The Terminal" with Tom Hanks. The hero, who finds himself without a passport in no man's land at an airport, comes from a fictional country according to the script, but in fact Tom Hanks in the role of Viktor Navorski speaks Bulgarian. Or something very similar. But still, let's not forget that Hanks' wife - Rita Wilson - has Bulgarian roots and was born with the name Margarita Ibragimov.
From "Casablanca" to "Harry Potter"
Bulgaria is also mentioned in classic Hollywood films such as "Casablanca" with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, where a desperate Bulgarian couple tries to win money at roulette.
And for dessert, of course: Viktor Krum in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire". In both the book of the same name and the film, this character, whom Harry Potter visits in Bulgaria, is famous as an excellent player in a fictional sport called Quidditch. According to a number of reviews in the media, the plot was inspired by the successes of the Bulgarian national football team at the 1994 World Cup in the USA. We have nothing left but to thank Dimitar Penev and Hristo Stoichkov for this prestigious place in the sunny history of cinema.
And will the metal joint "Bulgaria" of the burned stuntwoman in "Murder in the Building" raise the country's rating as a high-tech destination or at least as a profitable target for medical tourism? We will yet find out. Until then - pleasant reading and pleasant viewing!
Author: Alexander Andreev