Story worth to be told and known about, diaspora has never had enough media exposition in croatia it actually deserves in regard to the independence of croatia during the 90s, therefore i was suprised to find this documentary with its screenplay-aspects. Kikas is only one of the many diaspora croatians who ended up in prison for trying to smuggle arms to croatia during the war.
The screenplay parts are well made in regard to acting with a few exceptions (Gojko Susak character seemed to force himself NOT to say anything) but the main actor was very good in his role, ironically he is actually one of the very very few performances in croatian film who actually nailed the role of the person he is playing, even the way he talks english is very close to the real kikas, this actor actually tried to be authentic while most other croatian actors always play themselves no matter the role.
The CGI-scenes where way off (scale of the migs and the cargo-plane) luckily there where only a few of them and no, its not about budget or hollywood, in 2016 thats something that just needs a talented vfx-artist with an eye for details!
The screenplay-scenes seemed to be filtered to look like from the 90s, but felt more like the 70s, admitetly i found and watched this movie by accident on youtube in a lower quality (480p), therefore i could be wrong.
I give this documentary a very biased rating of 10, not that the story itself couldnt be filmed much better, it definetly could and SHOULD, this story is actually one that would work on an international level if done properly with profesional cinematography as a feature film, after all its about migrants who in there pursuit of prosperity still are somehow connected to their roots and origins, this is universally relatable to all migrants.
I am aware that Jakov Sedlar is controversial but than again the whole croatian media landscape is controversial and biased, if you want to disqualify one for this reason alone you have to disqualify all of them, the left will always trash the right and vice versa. Im also aware that the film is produced by the real Kikas himself, considering how the croatian film industrie is structured, a purely state funded mess, this only speaks for Kikas who once more shows how he is a talented business-man who is able to fund things by himself and not to be a burden to the croatian taxpayer.
My only beef with Jakov Sedlar is, he does find interessting topics, but im most of the time not sure about his intentions because im baffled how he hides all his productions, most of the time he shows it only in small selective screenings one time only but never officialy online, most of the time i find his productions years later by accident if some private person uploads it on youtube or similiar portals because theire is no offical way to get them. I always can find a lot of interviews of him talking about his movies but never the movies itself, not even half a year later, like for example his documentary-movie "3069" which i would like to watch somewhere easy accessible online, an important topic like this shouldnt be hidden away like this!
Dear Mr.Sedlar, whats the point of your documentaries if you dont show it to a bigger audience, as far as i understand your movies are "paid in advanced by sponsors" so to speak, you dont rely on ticket-sales afterwards, just put them online and use the interviews you appear in to tell the people where to find and watch them.
In this age the majority of your audience sits in front of a screen and not in a regular theater!!!
I hope my rating of 10 encourages you to change your approach in the future.
