Das Fraulein
LOCARNO, Switzerland -- The heartache that accompanies reluctant exile as experienced by three women from the former Yugoslavia underpins Andrea Staka's poignant drama "Das Fraulein", which won the Golden Leopard for best film in competition at the Locarno International Film Festival.
The film is set in Zurich, where one woman from Belgrade, in what is now Serbia, and another from a seaside town in what is now Croatia have spent about 25 years acclimating to life in Switzerland. Their carefully constructed lives are shaken by the arrival of a vivacious young woman from Sarajevo, in what is now Bosnia, who spurns the older pair's cautious way of life. The clash of viewpoints is explored in touching scenes as the three find their assumptions about survival challenged by a jolting reminder of life's unfairness.
Making her feature debut, Swiss-born writer-director Staka, whose parents were Yugoslavian exiles, uses the Zurich locations evocatively, writes in-sightful dialogue and draws naturalistic acting from the principals. The result is a picture that should thrive in Europe and at art houses and suggests a bright future for the filmmaker.
The contrasts be-tween the two older women are established quickly with Ruza (Mirjana Karanovic), the stern and disciplined unmarried owner of a charmless but busy diner, and Mila (Ljubica Jovic), a jovial and happily married waitress.
Both long exiled, Ruza has put Belgrade behind her and is focused on being totally efficient both in her business and her joyless single life, while Mila dreams of retiring to a house on the Adriatic in Croatia.
Into the diner one day comes Ana (Marija Skaricic), who drifts contentedly but proves helpful at the restaurant and is offered a job. Her high spirits and engaging willingness to break the rules, even Ruza's, endear her not only to the others in the place but also to its chilly owner.
Ana brings a refreshing indifference to flags and borders, and her ability to enjoy life proves infectious. All three women begin to embrace life more until fate deals another bad hand.
The scenes of expatriates torn by nostalgic yearning yet determined to make new lives are well drawn, and the sequences in which Ana helps Ruza shake off her inhibitions also have a keen edge.
Skaricic and Jovic show how wisdom and joy are not determined by age. And Karanovic is moving as a woman who has buried both her emotions and any ability to connect with life beyond work until suddenly freed by youthful exuberance.
DAS FRAULEIN
Dschoint Ventschr FilmProduktion
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Andrea Staka
Producers: Susann Rudlinger, Samir, Mirjam Quinte, Davor Pusic
Director of photography: Igor Martinovic
Production designer: Sue Erdt
Editor: Gion-Reto Killias
Music: Peter von Siebenthal, Till Wyler, Daniel Jakob
Cast:
Ruza: Mirjana Karanovic
Ana: Marija Skaricic
Mila: Ljubica Jovic
Franz: Andrea Zogg
Ante: Zdenko Jelcic
Fredi: Pablo Aguilar
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 81 minutes...
The film is set in Zurich, where one woman from Belgrade, in what is now Serbia, and another from a seaside town in what is now Croatia have spent about 25 years acclimating to life in Switzerland. Their carefully constructed lives are shaken by the arrival of a vivacious young woman from Sarajevo, in what is now Bosnia, who spurns the older pair's cautious way of life. The clash of viewpoints is explored in touching scenes as the three find their assumptions about survival challenged by a jolting reminder of life's unfairness.
Making her feature debut, Swiss-born writer-director Staka, whose parents were Yugoslavian exiles, uses the Zurich locations evocatively, writes in-sightful dialogue and draws naturalistic acting from the principals. The result is a picture that should thrive in Europe and at art houses and suggests a bright future for the filmmaker.
The contrasts be-tween the two older women are established quickly with Ruza (Mirjana Karanovic), the stern and disciplined unmarried owner of a charmless but busy diner, and Mila (Ljubica Jovic), a jovial and happily married waitress.
Both long exiled, Ruza has put Belgrade behind her and is focused on being totally efficient both in her business and her joyless single life, while Mila dreams of retiring to a house on the Adriatic in Croatia.
Into the diner one day comes Ana (Marija Skaricic), who drifts contentedly but proves helpful at the restaurant and is offered a job. Her high spirits and engaging willingness to break the rules, even Ruza's, endear her not only to the others in the place but also to its chilly owner.
Ana brings a refreshing indifference to flags and borders, and her ability to enjoy life proves infectious. All three women begin to embrace life more until fate deals another bad hand.
The scenes of expatriates torn by nostalgic yearning yet determined to make new lives are well drawn, and the sequences in which Ana helps Ruza shake off her inhibitions also have a keen edge.
Skaricic and Jovic show how wisdom and joy are not determined by age. And Karanovic is moving as a woman who has buried both her emotions and any ability to connect with life beyond work until suddenly freed by youthful exuberance.
DAS FRAULEIN
Dschoint Ventschr FilmProduktion
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Andrea Staka
Producers: Susann Rudlinger, Samir, Mirjam Quinte, Davor Pusic
Director of photography: Igor Martinovic
Production designer: Sue Erdt
Editor: Gion-Reto Killias
Music: Peter von Siebenthal, Till Wyler, Daniel Jakob
Cast:
Ruza: Mirjana Karanovic
Ana: Marija Skaricic
Mila: Ljubica Jovic
Franz: Andrea Zogg
Ante: Zdenko Jelcic
Fredi: Pablo Aguilar
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 81 minutes...
- 8/9/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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