Glory (Slava), Cineworld, Edinburgh International Film Festival

Tzanko Petrov is contented enough with his simple life. He loves his rabbits, he carries out his job as a railway linesman without drama, ignoring the petty of his co-workers, and his home, basic as it is, gives him the comforts he needs. Then one day his life changes.

Finding a considerable sum of money by the rails, he calls the police, only pocketing a couple of notes. The story comes to the attention of Julia Staykova, workaholic head of the PR unit for the Ministry of Transport, and desperate to present the world with a good news story that will deflect from the crisis of corruption and incompetence swamping the rail administration. Petrov is hailed as a working class hero and invited to a presentation by the Minister of Transport to reward his honesty.

His reward is a new watch, so Julia removes the old one, promising to return it later. When she fails to do so she whistles off a train of events that spiral into darker territory. Petrov finds himself being manipulated by politicos and journalists to serve their own ends, and loses control over his life. All because of the old Slava (Glory) watch his father had given him. As ever it's the little man in the story who suffers most.

Using a lot of hand held camera work and close ups, the movie has the feel of a documentary expose at times, and a sense of real events. Although very much targeted at corruption in Bulgarian government, the message is universal, and Tzanko could be any one of us, being used to deflect attention from real problems.

Glory was filmed on a budget of only €150 thousand and with only four professional actors. Margita Gosheva is excellent as Staykova, an obsessive without scruples, while Stefan Denolyubov plays the slow witted, stuttering Petrov as a long suffering man of dignity. Many of the cast were friends and family of the professional team, which only adds to the sense of realism.

A film that transcends it's limited resources, Glory is both very funny and emotionally affecting, and well worth seeking out.