May 07, 2025

MOVIE REVIEW: Porcelain Dreaming
Releasing in Latvia as “Porcelāna Sapņošana”
Release Date: December 2025
Director: Voldemars Skuja

In an age when cinema often revisits the same formulaic narratives, Porcelain Dreaming dares to tread entirely new ground. This poignant, offbeat masterpiece from director Voldemars Skuja immerses us in the hardscrabble existence of Arnis Ozols – a young Latvian farm boy whose childhood is defined not by epic childhood adventures of discovery and joy, but by a plastic lard bucket behind the pig shed – the family’s makeshift toilet.

What begins as a bleak portrayal of rural hardship transforms into a story of resilience, identity, and an almost poetic quest for dignity. Arnis, played with soul-stirring sincerity by newcomer Rihards Kalniņš, refuses to let his impoverished upbringing define him. With each whispered prayer beneath a stormy Baltic sky, with every stolen moment of solitude behind the sagging barn walls, he yearns for something greater—something made of… porcelain.

A Journey of Defiance and Sanitary Discovery

The film masterfully juxtaposes Arnis’s humble origins against his growing ambition to carve out a life beyond Dagda’s unforgiving landscape. His encounters with several local eccentrics: a one-legged eel fisherman; a former opera singer turned beekeeper; and the village priest who bases his sermons on the newspaper pages that his fish and chips come wrapped in, add layers of richness to the narrative. These characters, equal parts bizarre and endearing, become unwitting mentors in his peculiar odyssey.

Yet it is not until Arnis discovers a discarded toilet bowl behind the village dance studio that his dreams begin to find form. To the outside world, it’s just a discarded sanitary commodity – a symbol of rejection and depraved indifference. To Arnis, it’s the symbol of refinement, of civilization itself – a pan-dimensional portal to a life where one’s dignity is not determined by societal touchstones and symbolic abstractions.

Skuja’s Direction: Grit Meets Poetry

Skuja crafts an experience that oscillates between stark realism and moments of absurd beauty. The cinematography captures Dagda’s relentlessly austere landscapes with haunting elegance – each dew-drenched blade of grass, each mournful gaze from the resident geese, tells its own story. The pacing, deliberate and unyielding, mirrors Arnis’s slow but steady march toward self-worth.

But it is the film’s unflinching honesty that leaves the most lasting impression. It does not glorify hardship nor indulge in pity; instead, it finds a strange nobility in survival itself.

Final Verdict: A Film Unlike Any Other

Porcelain Dreaming is not just a film – it’s a surreal odyssey, one that lingers long after the credits roll. At times tragic, often hilarious, and always deeply human, it proves that even the most unassuming objects can be imbued with meaning.

Rating: ★★★★★ Unapologetically bold, strikingly original, and defiantly audacious!