The Dreamed Adventure: Valeska Grisebach’s film follows mostly a woman, the leader of an archeological dig site in Bulgaria near a border town; she gets entangled with the local crime lords after an old friend shows up. The film is interesting for its setting in a very particular place, distant in all senses, and for its female protagonist in a setting unfriendly to her gender. The character moves with purpose, but also with a soft touch. However, the film ultimately lacks some punch, and even if that’s the point, it works to its detriment. The acting is generally quite good: Yana Radeva plays the protagonist, a focused woman with emotional baggage; Syuleyman Letifov plays her mysterious friend with unseemly ties; and Stoicho Kostadinov, as the local crime lord, offers quiet threat with his presence. The cinematography, by DoP Bernhard Keller, is effective and unaffected; editor Bettina Böhler gives the film a ponderous pace, that requires patience but mostly rewards it.