Cvetje v jeseni

What a beautiful movie! I understand the reason why it is considered one of the best Slovenian films. The quiet and introspective plot sets us in a pleasant mood and presents a series of interesting characters, first of all the two protagonists. But good is also the definition of secondary characters, such as the people of the village. The rural world of the end of 19th century is depicted in a very effective way. Among small and big tragedies, and simple joys, we find essential and unsophisticated people, who live a life close to nature and far from the frenzy of the city. In this world there is still place for friendship and solidarity, and for church on Sundays. Really beautiful is the character of the country girl in which the lawyer falls in love. The excellent and pretty actress Stefka Drolc conveys her character the innocence and shyness which many city girls loose very soon, especially today. The representation of their romance is delicate and sensitive, and keeps away from high and melodramatic tones. This notwithstanding, the two of them love each other very deeply. The green and gentle landscape on Slovenian mountains is filmed in a lyric and peaceful way. And yet one can glimpse in it a light melancholy, at which the title itself hints. There is absolutely no political propaganda; what more, there is a sort of nostalgia for the old times, when Slovenia was under the catholic Habsburg Empire. Telling a story which takes place in the past was sometimes in East-European communist countries a way to put in the movie elements which wouldn't have passed through censorship in a plot set on today. I'm referring not only to the positive hint, in the dialogs, at the emperor in Vienna, but also to a religious element. A peasant woman talks the people of the village out of lynching her husband with hoes and forks by evoking the Passion of Christ. It is a sweet, romantic, melancholic movie, which sticks in our mind, also because it is so different from modern block-busters. It is available on DVD with English subtitles.

Cvetje v jeseni (Blossoms in Autumn) is one of the most famous and probably also best Slovenian films ever made. It is about an aging successful man from Ljubljana, who finds his true love in person of young peasant girl while he spends his vacations at the countryside. Basically, it is an adaptation of a literary classic by Ivan Tavcar, Slovenian 19th century writer, but Kolopcic, a renowned director with apparent new wave inclinations, treats the material in a skillful, convincingly auteuristic manner.

A definite MASTERPIECE from the genious (yet little known) director, Matjaz Klopcic. Matjaz shows off his amazing talent as he rips his story out, gripping the viewers with the excitment and horror of what Ahmed Mazzhoumulli and his communist-oriented wife Shirly Mazzhoumulli go through to get their long awaited divorce.

Although slightly long, it all becomes worth it when the final twist shakes the very foundations of human thinking in the closing scene of the film.

Perhaps Klopcic knew of the depth he would achieve in this film, and hence may have lightened the themes towards the conclusion. However, this film is a sure-pleasing four and a half hours.

The acting is bad, there are many movies (Slovenian too) from the same era and they're 10x better...

watch if you want a chuckle at how bad it is