AllMovie

Lithuanian filmmaker Gytis Luksas directed this adaptation of Romualdas Granauskas's novel of one man's struggle with innocence and experience. Juzik (Giedrius Kiela) is a young man who has somehow held on to his guileless, good-humored nature despite trying circumstances -- his father survived World War I only to be killed while making his way home, and his best friend lost his life in a drowning accident. However, after a stint in the Army, Juzik gets a job working for a mining company, and he gets a first hand look at the deceit and dirty dealings of the outside world as he struggles with his two-faced employers. Juzik also finds out about the complexities of love when he falls for Klara (Jevgenija Varencia), who is given to alcohol and infidelity, and Maska (Oksana Borbat), who has been treated poorly by men and struggles with her self-image. Duburys (aka Vortex) received its North American premiere at the 2009 Montreal World Film Festival.