Beautifully filmed, with an important message
I purchased this DVD as a result of seeing a report on Kittredge Cherry's "Jesus in Love" blog spot that a poster advertising the play derived from the movie had caused uproar. As Cherry reported:
"According to Croatian news reports, the mayor of Zagreb ordered theater director Darko Stazic to remove the poster from all public areas after an unprecedented campaign against it by Catholic and other religious groups. They denounced the poster as blasphemy."
Interestingly, the blasphemy issue arose because the poster showed two women in long robes, one of which might have been construed to be the Virgin Mary, in a tender embrace. Apparently the sexuality of the story was not the issue as much as the suggestion that the Virgin might accept the loving embrace of a woman. Interestingly enough, for me the famous picture (and sculpture) by Thomas Blackshear entitled "Forgiven", which shows Jesus embracing and uplifting a presumably repentant sinner at the moment of...
Slavic Identity After the Dissolution of Yugoslavia - Croatia
I have been sitting for 4 days, thinking about this 2002 movie from Croatia. I have decided that I did like the movie, but many people may find offense at the portrayals of Slavs of the former nation of Yugoslavia, especially Croatians.
The story (set in Zagreb) is told through Iva, one of two women who rent an apartment from an older couple. The wife (Olga) is a nosy-body who is constantly looking for her son to marry. The movie begins with Iva, who has gone to the building with a police detective to look for her 4-year-old son, who she swears was kidnapped by the old woman. Iva, unable to find her son, tells the detective that the tenants are lying, and gives a story (most of movie told in flashback) about what happened with her and Marija, her lover and about the other tenants.
The movie goes back in time, with Iva and Marija, lesbians, moving in and being watched by a strange man. The movie then spirals into a big, insane, phantasmagorical narrative,...
Worth watching - Spoiler alert
I will keep this brief, as the previous review sets the bar quite high. I know nothing about Eastern Europe, but I do know I thing or two about homoerotic representations in film. This plot does nothing to advance gay rights (not that it has to), as it has the same moral message as a gay Fatal Attraction (i.e. don't deviate from monogamy and heterosexuality or else). The leading actress makes a poor choice (lesbianism) and her life is turned upside down. Eventually, she abandons her degenerate lifestyle leaving a few dead bodies behind. She marries her ex-boyfriend, has a child and a beautiful house. Her past comes back to haunt her (ergo the movie) but eventually all turns out well and the happy family walks into the sunset. She will not tell her husband about her "secret past", because nobody ever truly knows their family. Makes sense. A good movie, if you can tolerate the sexist and homophobic message.
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