For a Few Delens More: Balagov Congeals in the Garden State
Kantemir Balagov brings his native Nalchik to New Jersey with his English language debut Butterfly Jam, the title a MacGuffin meant to represent a fantasy world of tall tales and out of reach dreams for a failed father figure grappling with masculine inadequacies. In comparison to his exceptional 2017 debut Closeness and the equally assured follow-up in 2019’s Beanpole (read review), Balagov and co-scribe Maria Stepnova get a bit lost in translation with a questionably cast odyssey of struggling first generation siblings who remain trapped and adrift while operating their nascent family business. Striking motifs can’t quite overcome the narrative discord and vague characterizations leading to violent tragedy, and, ultimately, Balagov’s latest suffers in comparison to other contemporary filmmakers covering similar territory.
“Good people like sweet things,” mutters one of the characters after hours at Zalya’s, a Circassian family restaurant whose proprietors seem to make a humble living from. Run by Azik (Barry Keoghan) and his very pregnant sister Zalya (Riley Keough), change seems to be on the horizon with Azik’s wrestling champion son Temir (Talha Akdogan) set to go off to college in Chicago, the first member of his family to pursue higher education. Likewise, a new opportunity for Azik to become a chef at a swank new Italian restaurant being developed by ex-lawyer Aslan seems to be the big break he needs. But Azik’s best friend, Marat (Harry Melling) is a loose cannon whose shenanigans consistently hold them both back.
It would seem the main thrust of the film is about intergenerational disconnect complicated by masculine ideologies and hierarchies, with teen dad Azik and his best friend Marat prime examples of wasted potential. However, it’s unclear what went wrong with either of them other than some minor failed business ventures and harebrained schemes.
For a majority of the running time, it’s unclear if Balagov wants to dip into Bicycle Thieves (1948) territory or the kind of comic mayhem defining Kirill Mikhanovsky’s Give Me Liberty (2019). A wry, mischievous twinkle seems to define the irascible Azik, with Keoghan embodying a similar character to his disappointing father figure in Andrea Arnold’s Bird (2024), replete with an exotic animal association. Arnold is an apt comparison, as is Sean Baker, whose Palme d’Or winning Anora (2024) comes to mind throughout (especially in a moment featuring a moonlighting neighborhood sex worker named Phoebe). But neither Keoghan nor Keough are believable as Circassian siblings whose relationship takes a while to deduce without significant assistance from dialogue which seems primed merely for exposition. The hapless Azik, whose secret recipe for jam supposedly made of butterflies and repeatedly confirmed talent for making delens (a traditional Circassian potato and cheese pie), are merely details disguising he’s merely an undefined flop. Keoghan’s efforts here pale drastically in comparison to something like Joel Alfonso Vargas’ recent Mad Bills to Pay: (or Destiny, dile que no soy Malo).
While Harry Melling similarly distracts as a Circassian, his characterization makes more sense, an unstable powder keg aggravated by a fainting condition which supposedly assists in keeping him at the bottom of his food chain. But a series of vague happenings supposedly support an explosive moment meant to highlight the violence with which emasculated men seek to reestablish the pecking order (a la a similar moment in The Brutalist, 2024). Newcomer Talha Akdogan fares the best as the Turkish-American progeny of Azik, thanks mostly to appropriate casting. However, Balagov anchors him with a side plot with teen love interest and fellow wrestler Alika (Jaliyah Richards), which promises to head off into A Bronx Tale (1993) territory but instead stagnates (thanks, in part, to some woefully flat acting from supporting players in the wrestling sequences). Instead, we’re left to ponder what could have been with more exotic elements, such as fellow Circassian Monica Bellucci’s visage hovering in Zalya’s restaurant like a patron saint, whilst a displaced pelican ends up being the major scene stealer.
Cinematographer Jomo Fray (Nickel Boys, 2024) and composer Evgueni and Sacha Galperine supply elements which transcend the limitations of the narrative. A funeral sequence (which is more comic than it potentially should be) is brought to life by the score, while Fray’s frames consistently highlight a claustrophobic intimacy which underscores the metaphorical wrestling themes about a group of characters eclipsing one another to such a degree it becomes unclear where the possibility of individuality could ever release them.
Reviewed on May 13th at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival (79th edition) – Directors’ Fortnight (Opening Film). 102 Mins.
