Kajmak i marmelada

Branko Djuric Djuro is a renowned comedian actor with a cult following in entire Yugoslavia. Taking him seriously as a dramatic actor was difficult at first, but after "No Man's Land" it wasn't that difficult anymore. Then he starts to direct-now that's a stretch. Still, "Kajmak in marmelada" shows some premise and Djuro does better with it than fellow actor-turned-director Dejan Acimovic with his pretentious and over-dramatic "Je li jasno prijatelju?". What never before has been a trend in former Yugoslavia, that actors should try themselves at directing, has now seemingly become that.

Featuring mainly unknown names, save for three (Djuric, Bitorajac and Bjelogrlic), this film is an everyday life story which contains equal amounts of drama and humor. Basically, it's about love and the things that really matter in a relationship. The lead male protagonist Božo is a Bosnian living in Slovenia, a loser kind of type who after his woman leaves him tries to redeem himself in order to win her back. Spela is a strong and smart woman who is torn between her reason and her family who don't think highly of her boyfriend and her love for Božo.

The actress playing Spela gave quite a strong performance. Dragan Bjelogrlic was convincing in his part as Božo's seedy friend involved in illegal activities and Rene Bitorajac gave an amusing cameo performance as a Bosnian gangster. Djuro again showed that he is more than just a comedian and his performance is perhaps his most mature so far. So to sum it all up, a passable melodrama with quite a few dramatic twists and some enjoyable humor.