Delta (2008)

Young Mihail has worked for many years as an animal keeper at a zoo in the city and saved a modest amount of money. Now he returns to his home village on the Black Sea to live there. His first stop is his mother’s house, where she lives in modest circumstances with a new partner and runs a small tavern. There Mihail also meets his sister Fauna for the first time; she lives in the small house too. His mother’s partner views Mihail with suspicion and hostility. Since there is no room for him in the house, he moves into the small fishing hut belonging to his late father, which lies away from the village beside an idyllic branch of the Danube. Fauna quickly befriends her long-lost brother and spends more and more time with him—much to the suspicion of the villagers, their mother, and her partner. Mihail also feels the village’s hostility. Nevertheless, he refuses to abandon his plan to settle in his old home and buys a large quantity of wood to build a house on stilts over the water. Fauna helps him, and they decide to move in together. The village is in an uproar over these plans; pressure on Mihail and Fauna mounts, but the two continue working on their wooden house. When Fauna moves out of her mother’s house, she gets into an argument with her mother’s partner. On her way to Mihail, he drags her behind a building and rapes her. Fauna takes refuge in Mihail’s fishing hut, where he cares for her. The two cautiously grow closer. Fauna’s uncle, who also lives in the village, does not want to lose contact with his niece and helps them build the house. Among other things, he gives Mihail a fish trap. Fauna now lives with Mihail, and the two continue working on the building. One day, Mihail catches a large number of fish. He goes to the village and wants to invite Fauna’s mother and her partner to a meal. They refuse, so he invites the other people at the tavern instead. Many of those he asks come and celebrate the big catch with gusto. As Fauna heads for the new house, three young men from the village follow her. They too disapprove of her living with Mihail. On the walkway leading to the house, they assault her again. Mihail hears her screams and goes to help Fauna. But the men fatally wound him with a knife, and he falls into the water.