A Good Wife

Milena is an attractive 50-something-year old who lives with her husband in their comfortable middle-class home in a small suburb not far from Belgrade.  She seems to spend her life of the edge of perpetually about to do something, which she never follows through on. Her days are spent aimlessly looking perplexed and anxious as her presence is ignored by her family who just take her for granted. Her grown up daughter has moved to Belgrade and has own city life in which she does not involve her mother in.  Her son has also left home and just flits in and out of the house when he wants his laundry done.  Her husband prefers drinking with his wartime buddies and although she and the other wives tag along they are hardly the centre of attention. The only real joy in her life seems to be singing in choir of the church that she is very attached too.

One day mooching around the house she finds an old VHS tape and playing it is shocked to learn that her husband and his closest friends were personally involved in some dire war atrocities.  This discovery is about the same time that the medical examination she has been putting off for years, reveals that she has an advanced case of breast cancer.  After learning these two very different pieces of bad news, Milena gets even more withdrawn and goes into total denial and she  simply refuses to either make any decisions on how to proceed, or ever discuss these with her family who are so self-involved that they just fail to notice any difference with her at all.

Her cancer is the first thing that she eventually goes public with and when she shares this with her husband he simply does not know how to re-acts and walks out of the room saying nothing. In all the years they have been married they have talked very little together. and its always been nothing beyond their usual daily routine.  It's obvious too late and too hard for them to change that habit now.

However it seems that no matter how much her husband's activities in the war really appall her, Milena is probably never going to discuss it with him, let alone make a publuc fuss.  Then when one of his rengade collegues threatens him with blackmail and then next day turns up dead, she knows she is left with no other choice. 

The movie is the writing/directing debut of  veteran Serbian actress 

Mirjana Karanovic who also stars as Milena and it is  an earnest and serious look at how good life is for Serbs who were on victorious side of the civil war, but it all came at a very heavy price.  Her excellent rather earnest drama that premiered at Sundance shows that really in war there are no winners, and she ensures that the somewhat surprising end was well worth the long wait to reach its conclusion.

★★★★★★★

THE PARADE

I know I was laughing far too hard at the opening scenes of this wickedly funny comedy because from the word go I knew the plot was horribly un-pc.  This is a Serbian movie that poked fun about widespread homophobia but also indulged in racial slurs between all the different peoples that once made up Yugoslavia.  Unapologetically clichéd and wreaking in stereotypes, this farce is the unlikely story of two warring factions who agree on a ‘ceasefire’ to suit their own means but end up becoming friends.

It all starts with starts with a drive-by shooting.  Someone speeds past Lemon’s large gated house and shoots his pit-bull. Lemon, an extreme macho man, former paramilitary soldier and thug rushes his precious dog to the hospital and threatens  poor Mirko the quivering vet at gunpoint to tell him that if the dog dies so does he. Thankfully the dog lives.  Fast forward to a Wedding Boutique and Pearl, Lemon’s rather robust fiancé, is being persuaded by Radmilo her wedding planner to go for something totally over the top and outrageously camp.  Radmilo is incidentally Mirko’s boyfriend.

Lemon hates all the wedding plans and when he puts his foot down too firmly, Pearl ups and leaves.  Negotiations take place and the only way Pearl will come back is if she gets the wedding of her dreams, and the only way Radmilo will provide it now that he knows who her fiancé is, if Lemon will provide some much needed security for the upcoming gay parade.  No small demand in a country where homophobia is rampant and Lemon’s own son is a known ‘fag basher.’

What occurs then is hilarious, as none of his usually thuggish mates will do it, Lemon resorts to going next door to Croatia to call in some old favors from his ex-war buddies, who turn out to not so tough as they first look.

Despite all its humor not everything goes well and there is a moment when you are brought up sharp with the reality of the situation and the story takes on a different tone. 

I wont apologize for enjoying this rather crude and  simplistic movie, as the ‘message’ part still sunk in very loud and clear.  Even in the very heat of the violent  battle that is about to start writer/director Srdjan Dragojevic still peppers his script with some wee gems.  Pearl dons a flak jacket and lines up with Lemon and his few men to fight off hundreds of skinheads who are standing a few feet away …. but she says ‘only if it will take an hour as I have  parked the car on a meter.’

I’ve absolutely no idea at all if this is based on a true story but one can only imagine that the all the gay bashing in that Region is very much a reality.  The heartening footnote is that since its release in  Serbia and neighboring countries some 500000 people have viewed it and one can only hope and pray it helps change the playing fields for the gay community a little.

P.S.  The movie won 3 Awards at the Berlin Film Festival early this year, and so is probably bound for US Film Festivals now, and hopefully be Released soon.  Worth keeping on your 'Watch Out List".


★★★★★★★★

(n.b. It's the only trailer available but it's in Serbian BUT you can still easily get the drift)