Carol Rodriguez3
Member
26 messages
joined Mar 2005
I didn't make it to the DHF, but here’s my two cents on that whole mess over at the CNN report.
A recent CNN report covers the situation. It’s the same old story.
The opening ceremony for the Academy Awards was just wrapped up. It was a standard affair, though predictably predictable. I sat through most of it, nursing a lukewarm coffee and wondering if anyone actually enjoys these scripted spectacles. Honestly, it felt like watching history repeat itself in real-time. A lot of polite applause and hollow speeches, the usual routine you expect from an industry that loves its own reflection. Just another night of Hollywood pretending everything is perfect while the rest of us deal with reality.
A reminder of those great days and some "nothing special" new releases.
It started with an inventory of last year’s mediocre domestic productions at MM SC, only for a delayed week—marked by the Pope's lamentations and unseasonable weekend rain—to trigger the explosive resignation of documentary selector Goran Dević. It sent shockwaves through the media, signaling that the 14th Academy Awards have officially begun.
Last year's Academy Awards winner, Goran Dević, essentially made sure everyone got their spotlight—especially the film he wanted absolutely nothing to do with. Because management insisted on including Krelja’s "Marathon Runner" in the lineup, he handed in his resignation. Typical.
The retrospective of our greatest documentary hits kicked off Monday, and yesterday we moved on to a look at short films from Canada. It’s the same old story across the board—that unavoidable lens of war that colors every single experience, feeling, and human fate presented.
We could have seen Pierre Zalica’s debut from 1998, "end of era unpleasantness"—a decent little story about two lonely people struggling to find any connection or affection in their old age. Then there was his student, Serdan Vuletić, who delivered "triple jump," a heavy-hitting war story set in Sarajevo where former friends suddenly found themselves on opposite sides, separated only by sniper fire. If you want proof that Vuletić is a sharp student, just look at how he managed to outshine his mentor.
Ahmet Imamovic’s "10 Minutes" is an impressive piece. It plays with the relativity of time by juxtaposing the chaos of war-torn Sarajevo against the carefree distance of Rome. The handheld camera work feels raw and real, while those long takes really nail that grim atmosphere. It’s no wonder the Academy recognized it, handing him the award for Best European Film back in 2002. It's also worth noting that his last two films have already made the rounds at the Sundance Film Festival.
Then came the comparison with our own domestic lineup. Orhela’s "sunny side Saturday" follows two friends, Janko Rakos and Hrvoje Keckes, as they waste a Saturday doing absolutely nothing, just venting about how uninspired their daily lives have become. Matanić’s "drought" was a different beast entirely; it showcased Branka Linta’s excellent, expressive camerawork to capture the isolation of a young girl, Leona Paraminski, who is essentially living a slow-motion nightmare while stuck on a deserted island with her parents. Then there was Simon Blagojevic’s "Plasticat," a 3-D animated short that uses humor to follow a cat wandering through the city, encountering both its guardian angel and its devil. It leads to those kind of absurd situations you see in Dragojevic's "we to be find," where the protagonist starts grappling with his own moral dilemmas. A pleasant surprise was the travelogue "between Zaghlul and Zaharias," directed by Hrvoje Hribar, who also heads up the festival. This specific film serves as a witty, stylized postcard of downtown Chicago back in 1994.
Movies are supposed to leave you feeling good, but I still can't shake this nagging envy for those more powerful impressions made by my colleagues from Canada—specifically Vuletić’s work, and that true masterpiece, Imamovic's "10 Minutes."
Whether it’s a lesson for the new generation or just a warning to current filmmakers to stay on track, this classic has been released again. The director now lives and works in America, while we sit here—for reasons I can't quite pinpoint—looking back at those "good old days" through a lens of nostalgia. We're revisiting a film that carries a certain charisma and success: Goran Dević's 1991 work, "Mirta Learns Statistics."
And what about that latest update? The very thing we were all sitting around waiting for and watching for.
First off, the festival's new face looks solid. Having Andreja Korovljeva and Jasmina Telalovic headlining works well, especially since they pair perfectly with the festival logo featuring Bruket and Žinić.
Anything else? Not really. Honestly, maybe it’s better if we never saw it. Snježana Tribuna, the director and writer, showed up to pitch this lukewarm, pretty uninspired—some might even say depressing—flick called Under a Clear Sky. It follows a middle-aged guy (Dražen Kuhn) who suddenly gets struck by Cupid's arrow in the form of Leona Paraminski, only for his life to spiral downward because of it. That’s the whole story. There isn't much more to it than that.
The second and final competition entry, "The Last Day Pet," was the one everyone had been waiting for from J. Zastavnikovic. Knowing this project was shot five years ago and re-edited countless times, we expected anything given that bizarre title. Instead, we got a strange blend of an overly intimate home movie and the most eccentric screening at the Sundance Film Festival. With its odd angles, imaginative sets, and intentionally jarring cuts, the story of a little pet rabbit meeting a tragic end felt like a massive experiment. A music video director—someone used to the style of Stampede or Rundek—was essentially testing if she could pull a wild vision out of her head without getting booed out of a packed theater. Credit goes to the lead, Dan Ljustina, who was excellent.
Even though yesterday marked the end of the indie film run, Snjezana and Jasna won't be easily forgotten.
A packed house at the massive Student Union, a traditional concert in the lobby, a swing orchestra setting the mood, and a beer in hand—it was all part of the experience tonight, and hopefully, it stays that way for the coming days.
I.S.
